The Danes are coming

Maersk to cooperate with Hapag-Lloyd; DSV to take over DB Schenker. The question concerning the future of DB Schenker has now been answered – or hasn’t it? In any case, one clear trend is emerging in Germany’s logistics sector, namely that ever more firms from it small northern neighbour are fortifying their presence there.

Photo: Bumann / stock.adobe.com

Friday the 13th of September 2024 was a fortunate day for some. The Danish logistician DSV signed an agreement to take over the German railway firm Deutsche Bahn’s subsidiary DB Schenker for an ‘enterprise value’ of EUR 14.3 billion. The company said that the move makes Germany “a key market for DSV; one that’s crucially significant for the future of our organisation.” DSV expects strong growth in Germany and is “planning to invest EUR 1 billion there in the next three to five years.”

Thus CVC Capital Partners, a private equity firm, lost out in the bidding war. It nevertheless called on Deutsche Bahn (DB) to revise its decision, to accept CVC’s ‘fair value’ offer of EUR 11.9 billion – which it said is only lower at first glance – and to sell its profitable logistics subsidiary to a consortium led by CVC. DB lost no time in rejecting the idea.

In January 2023 the Danish line Maersk, in turn, had rejected the continuation of its collaboration with MSC in the 2M alliance, set up for a ten-year period in 2015. In January 2024 Maersk revealed plans to team up with its German competitor Hapag-Lloyd. The Hamburg-based line left ‘The Alliance’ and will now make common cause with the Danes in the Gemini Cooperation (GC).

The uncertainties in the Red Sea region have prompted GC to forge two plans. Its ‘Cape Network’ encompasses 340 ships (3.7 million teu) sailing in 59 services; its ‘Suez Network’ has 300 ships (3.4 million teu) and 57 services. GC will decide in October which network will be activated in February.