BERLIN, May 24 (Reuters) - Germany's Deutsche Bahn has selected four interested parties for the next stage of the bidding process for its logistics subsidiary Schenker, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

One or more of the bids submitted by the four preferred buyers exceed 15 billion euros ($16.26 billion), the source said.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Schenker was expected to fetch between 12 billion and 15 billion euros to help the state-owned rail operator cut its debt.

The source told Reuters that the four bidders on the shortlist included a financial investor, a strategic investor, a European investor and one from the Arab region.

Previously, six bidders had still been in the running: Danish freight forwarder DSV, shipping companies Maersk and MSC, a consortium of financial investors CVC and Carlyle, as well Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ and Saudi logistics company Bahri.

Deutsche Bahn plans to select a buyer for Schenker by the end of the year and expects the deal to close in 2025, the source said.

($1 = 0.9225 euros) (Reporting by Markus Wacket, Writing by Friederike Heine, Editing by Rachel More)