Deutsche Bahn (DB) Supervisory Board will take the final decision, this autumn, regarding the planned sale of parts of foreign transport company Arriva and logistics unit DB Schenker. As part of the Group restructuring strategy, DB Mobility Logistics merged with DB. Arriva operates in 14 European countries outside Germany.
The Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bahn’s Executive Board was commissioned to create a concrete implementation concept for a minority interest of third parties in DB Arriva and DB Schenker.
A final decision is expected this autumn, with Deutsche Bahn likely to sell a 45% stake both in DB Arriva and DB Sckenker. The company is seeking to reduce its EUR 17.5 billion debt and invest in modernising German railways. Both flotations could raise up to EUR 4.5 billion, or EUR 5 billion.
Thus, Supervisory and Executive Boards wish to secure the greatest quality and investment offensive in the history of the company financially and continue the successful development of DB Arriva and DB Schenker with further growth investments.
Deutsche Bahn’s debt has been driven up by the restructuring and investment program it launched in 2015 in response to sharp drops in revenues and earnings in the passenger and freight operations.
“If we do not take countermeasures, the Group’s debt will increase significantly until 2020. The equity of third parties limits the debt and creates financial flexibility to continue the quality and investment offensive in Germany”, the chairman of the Supervisory Board, Utz-Hellmuth Felcht, said.
From 2016 to 2020 gross investments of DB Group accounts for approximately EUR 55 billion or around EUR 50 billion, which is 90 percent of the investments in the railway sector in Germany.
Of the total investment EUR 20 billion must be financed from own resources.
“Explicitly the aim is that DB Arriva and DB Schenker have been fully consolidated in the future DB-balance sheet”, DB CEO Rüdiger Grube mentioned.
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