A DCP (Dettmer Container Packing) employee checks the load and seals the container during a press tour of Deutsche Bahn logistics unit Schenker at the harbour in Hamburg, Germany, August 8, 2024. REUTERS/Cathrin Mueller/File Photo

Danish transport firm DSV is slightly ahead in the bidding race for German state railway Deutsche Bahn's logistics unit Schenker, several people familiar with the sales process told Reuters on Friday.

DSV's offer is currently seen as the most attractive, the sources said after a meeting of a government committee that evaluated the bid along with a competing bidder, a consortium led by CVC Capital Partners.

The railway itself is leaning towards the Danish firm, but the final decision will be made by the government, the sources added, with both offers amounting to around 14 billion euros ($15.6 billion).

Deutsche Bahn declined to comment on the matter.

Although the government committee's assessment is seen as an important step in the sale, it doesn't imply a decision, which is expected at the end of September by the earliest.

($1 = 0.8974 euros)