German giant on the prowl in North America
22 / 02 / 2017
DB Schenker is on the hunt for a US acquisition, according to recent press reports.
The Wall Street Journal quoted chief executive Jochen Thewes as saying that the German-based forwarder is looking to expand outside its current core Europe/Asia market, possibly by buying a major US domestic player.
The report added that DB Schenker expects to make a move late this year.
DB Schenker’s announcement is seen as a response to recent moves in the freight industry, some of them by US-based players. These include FedEx’s purchase of Netherlands-based TNT Express and XPO Logistics’ acquisition of French-based firm Norbert Dentressangle. Danish forwarder DSV has also made a transatlantic foray, with its purchase of UTi.
DB Schenker has already bought a $25m minority stake in US freight-booking platform uShip. It did also buy US airfreight forwarder BAX Global, but that was over a decade ago, in 2006.
Stock market analysts say that there are a number of US companies looking for buyers at the moment, although prices have been rising lately.
