The European Commission has given the green light to DSV's acquisition of DB Schenker, following the announcement of the deal last year.

Danish logistics company DSV confirmed in September that it had reached an agreement to acquire German freight forwarder DB Schenker from Deutsche Bahn. The €14.3 billion transaction is set to establish DSV as the world's largest freight forwarder.

According to the European Commission's competition cases section, the provisional deadline for the decision was April 8, with the approval finalized on the same date.

Following the approval from the European Commission, the merger remains pending approval from U.S. competition authorities. Last month, DSV stated that it anticipates finalizing the deal in the second quarter of this year.

DSV A/S announced in September that it had signed an agreement to take over DB Schenker, a unit of Deutsche Bahn AG, for €14.3 billion (US$16 billion).

The Danish logistics company said it will finance the all-cash transaction over the next 12 months through a combination of share sales of up to  €5 billion (US$5.5 billion) and debt financing. 

The deal would put DSV and DB Schenker on top in terms of airfreight volumes, with a combined 2.4 million tonnes and a close second to Kuehne+Nagel's 4.34 million TEUs in the ocean with 4.3 million TEUs together.