On September 26 Deutsche Bahn AG confirmed its plans for the partial flotation of the operating business DB Mobility Logistics AG. The first day of trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange will be October 27, when 24·9% of DB ML shares will go on offer to public and private investors. Whilst a Public Offering Without Listing is planned in Japan, no shares will be quoted in the USA.
An international roadshow is due to start on October 13, giving DB’s management two weeks to speak to institutional investors. The subscription phase for private investors in Germany is expected to open on the same date. Although November 5 had previously been anticipated for the IPO, the October 27 date has reportedly been selected to meet the requirement for two months' clear trading before the Frankfurt exchange next updates its listings index in January 2009.
Overall co-ordination of the DB ML partial flotation has been entrusted to Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and UBS, together with Dresdner Bank, which will co-ordinate retail activities, and Daiwa Securities. The flotation will be managed jointly by ABN AMRO, Citi and Credit Suisse with support from BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, DZ Bank, Merrill Lynch and WestLB.
DB believes that its unique geographic position at the heart of Europe and worldwide presence in the freight sector offers significant growth potential and says it will use the capital raised 'to expand its organic and external activities'.
According to the Federal Ministry of Transport, the proceeds of the flotation are to be split three ways, with equal amounts going to DB AG, to major rail infrastructure projects and to the national treasury. The bankers are understood to have valued DB ML at between €18bn and €22bn, putting the likely receipts at around €5bn.
