An Italian acquisition

DB Schenker Rail says it has increased its stake in the Italian rail freight operator NordCargo s.r.l. by a further 11 per cent. The DB Schenker subsidiary had already acquired a 49 per cent stake in NordCargo back in January 2009. It now owns 60 per cent of the shares and consequently the majority stake in the company, which is based in Milan.

Italy is one of the most important foreign markets for DB Schenker Rail, with transports to and from Italy accounting for roughly one quarter of the company’s total international revenues in 2008. DB Schenker Rail has already collaborated with NordCargo in the Italian market for many years.

NordCargo, with registered office in Milan, was hived off from the parent company Ferrovie Nord Milano (FNM) at the end of 2003. In 2008, its workforce of approximately 200 generated revenues of roughly EUR 40 million from international and domestic transports. The company is licensed to operate on the Italian rail network, runs 7000 trains / 1.4 million train kilometres per annum, and is responsible for providing traction on international routes along the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian coasts between Milan and Naples. NordCargo has been active in the freight transport market since September 2001.

The present business of DB Schenker Rail Italia, with registered office in Alessandria, will be transferred to NordCargo and the activities of both companies merged under the umbrella of NordCargo. This integration of the business activities of DB Schenker Rail Italia and NordCargo will lead to a new business enterprise with approximately 300 employees. “The amalgamation of these two companies will enable us to improve our product portfolio in Italy and along the north-southbound corridors, thus laying the basis for attracting more transport onto rail in both the international and the Italian domestic markets,” explained Dr. Alexander Hedderich, Chairman of DB Schenker Rail.

“In 2001, we were the first company to successfully tackle the challenge of entering the liberalised rail freight market,” added Norberto Achille, Chairman of FNM. “Together with the leading European rail freight company, we now play an even more important role in that market. In terms of transport volumes and revenues, we are the second-largest Italian rail freight operator.”

The present DB Schenker Rail Italia was purchased by DB Schenker Rail Deutschland in 2004. It was the successor of  “Strade Ferrate del Mediterraneo” (SFM) which had been founded in 2001. In financial year 2008, the company – whose activities are concentrated in the north-west of Italy – had a workforce of approximately 100 and generated revenues of approximately EUR 17 million.