State-owned German bank sells $2.3B in DHL Group shares
Fox News
Germany has sold shares in the company that owns its national postal service for about $2.3 billion, reducing the overall public stake in the commodity.
The KfW bank, which holds the government's remaining stakes in previously state-held companies, said late Tuesday that it had sold 50 million shares of Deutsche Post — the name under which it still trades on the stock exchange, although the company is now known as DHL Group — at 43.45 euros each. That amounts to 4% of the company's shares.
The sale cuts the state's stake in DHL to 16.5%, though it is still the largest single shareholder. The proceeds are to be used to strengthen the capital of Germany's main railway operator, the state-owned Deutsche Bahn, to help it upgrade railway infrastructure, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
The government is turning to privatization proceeds to help finance improvements to the rail network after a court ruling forced it to plug a big hole in this year's budget and reconsider its wider financial plans.