DSV to Kick Off Bond Sale Early to Finance DB Schenker Deal

Based west of Copenhagen, DSV has built a reputation as a skilled integrator of its acquisitions. (Carsten Snejbjerg/Bloomberg News)

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Danish transport company DSV A/S will start a large bond sale as soon as this year to help pay for its 14.3 billion-euro takeover ($15.4 billion) of DB Schenker ahead of an expected completion in 2025.

That’s according to DSV’s chief financial officer, who says the group will soon issue four to five bonds with different maturities even though the acquisition isn’t expected to close until the second quarter of next year.

“We want to have a maximum flexibility, so we’re financing the deal through the three elements: shares, bonds and bank debt,” CFO Michael Ebbe said in a phone interview on Oct. 23. DSV already raised 5 billion euros in equity earlier this month, leaving some 6 billion to 9 billion euros needed from bonds and loans, he said.

“We’re not 100% certain yet about the exact split between bond and bank debt, but we want a majority, the significant part, of the remaining amount to come from bonds,” the CFO said.

DSV’s bond sale will probably be among the largest in Europe in 2024 if the company sells all the tranches before the end of the year. DSV could thereby rival German industrial giant Siemens AG, which raised 5 billion euros from a four-part bond deal in February, and Danish obesity drugmaker Novo Nordisk A/S, which raised 4.65 billion euros in a four-part deal in May.

The takeover of Deutsche Bahn AG’s logistics company will make DSV the world’s largest freight-forwarding company. DSV, which has grown through a string of large acquisitions, expects to be able to maintain its current credit ratings with its planned financing structure, Ebbe said.

DSV A/S (North America) ranks No. 10 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America. It ranks No. 14 on the TT Top 50 list of the largest global freight carriers.

DB Schenker ranks No. 25 on the TT Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America. Deutsche Bahn ranks No. 15 on the global freight carriers TT50.

DSV is rated A- with a negative outlook at Standard & Poor’s and A3 with a stable outlook at Moody’s Investors Service.