Just hours after reports emerged that the powerful German union Ver.di favors the consortium led by private equity firm CVC Capital Partners in the race to acquire DB Schenker—due to fears that the other contender, Danish giant DSV, might split the company into three parts and lay off thousands of employees—Reuters reported that DSV plans to invest approximately one billion euros in DB Schenker within three to five years if it acquires the company. Moreover, the agency notes that the Danish company does not intend to sell any part of the German enterprise and promises to maintain job guarantees for two years following the acquisition.
The information reported by Reuters comes from anonymous sources considered close to the matter, and DSV has not commented on the rumors. However, the close timing between the union's concerns and these reports raises suspicions that DSV may have strategically leaked this information to reassure the leadership of Deutsche Bahn (and, by extension, political figures) ahead of the September 18 decision on how to proceed with the sale of DB Schenker. Both contenders have offered 14 billion euros for DB Schenker, making other factors, including employment levels, increasingly important in the decision-making process.
