Germany's national rail operator Deutsche Bahn AG has chosen A.P. Møller - Mærsk A/S (CPSE:MAERSK B) (Maersk), DSV A/S (CPSE:DSV), The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (SASE:4030) (Bahri) and CVC Limited (ASX:CVC) in consortium with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and GIC Private Limited to enter the final round of a sale process for its logistics subsidiary Schenker AG, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Reuters reported last May 24, 2024 that Deutsche Bahn had shortlisted four final bidders for the process, without disclosing names. Deutsche Bahn wants to collect final bids for the business in July, two of the sources said.

DSV, CVC, ADIA, GIC and Maersk declined to comment. Bahri, Saudi Arabia's national shipping carrier, was not immediately available for comment. "After intensive evaluation of the now confirmed, non-binding offers for DB Schenker, we have selected the bidders with whom we will move into the next phase of the sales process," a spokesperson for Deutsche Bahn said.

"In the coming weeks, these bidders will have the opportunity to make binding offers for DB Schenker as part of a detailed examination. The entire process is going according to plan," they added. Some of last week's bids exceeded EUR 15 billion ($16.21 billion), while others came in around EUR 14 billion, as previously reported.

Proceeds will help the state-owned rail operator cut its debt of around EUR 34 billion. An agreement with the final buyer should be in place this year, with the sale scheduled to be completed in 2025.