Deutsche Bahn (DB) had chosen the four finalists for the sale of DB Schenker. The remaining contenders were Danish shipping giants Maersk and DSV, the Saudi national shipping carrier Bahri, and a partnership between investment funds CVC Capital Partners, Carlyle Group, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. This development indicated that MSC was no longer in the race.

DB aimed to gather the final bids by July, as reported by Reuters. In the previous week, DB had received confirmatory bids from various parties interested in acquiring DB Schenker. The last four bidders would have the opportunity to submit more detailed offers in the coming weeks. A final agreement was expected to be signed within the year, with the sale being finalised in 2025.

DB had decided to sell its logistics arm DB Schenker to cover its outstanding debt, which Reuters had estimated at 34 billion euros. The price for DB Schenker was anticipated to be around 15 billion euros, potentially covering almost half of DB?s financial shortfall. The sale of DB Schenker had been made official by DB in December 2023. By January 2024, over 20 parties had shown interest in purchasing the German logistics giant. Now, only four contenders remained, but only one would ultimately secure the acquisition.