A.P. Moller Maersk (Maersk) has confirmed that it has withdrawn from the bid for DB Schenker.

Reuters reported that Maersk’s reason for withdrawing from the bid was the numerous challenges associated with integrating the logistics firm.

In December 2023, Deutsche Bahn AG launched the sale process for DB Schenker.

Vincent Clerc, CEO of Maersk, stated: “Our investigation confirmed DB Schenker as an interesting company. But the in-depth review also identified areas of challenges from an integration perspective.”

“We concluded that acquiring DB Schenker would not be the right thing to do for our business at this time.”

According to Reuters, Deutsche Bahn chose Maersk, DSV, Bahri, and CVC (CVC.AX) to join the final round of the selling process.

Reuters added that at least one of the four bids from a previous round exceeded €15 billion ($16.13 billion). Other bids ranged from €13 billion ($13.9 billion) to €14 billion ($15 billion).

In June, Maersk opened its first low GHG emissions warehouse in Taulov Dry Port in Fredericia, Denmark.