COPENHAGEN: Denmark’s economy has become intertwined with Novo Nordisk A/S, famous for its fast-selling weight-loss treatments.

However, the pharma giant just got a bump down on the list of the Nordic country’s biggest revenue generators.

DSV A/S’s new acquisition, the US$15.9bil takeover of DB Schenker, will almost double the freight company’s sales, making it Denmark’s second-largest firm by that measure and pushing Novo down to third.

Still, Novo is the biggest company in Denmark - and Europe - when measured by market value, after the frenzy around weight-loss drugs fuelled steep gains in its stock.

At the same time, AP Moller-Maersk A/S remains the Nordic country’s biggest revenue-based on 2023 figures.

Chief executive officer Jens H. Lund stated in an interview on Bloomberg TV last Friday that DSV expects the integration of DB Schenker to take two to three years and that revenue may “dip a little bit” in the short term.

But he expects that DSV, with the acquisition, will be able to grow faster in the long run.

For Denmark, DSV’s growth adds some diversification to the AAA-rated economy amid warnings that its dependency on Novo poses large risks if the fortunes of the drug developer should turn.

The acquisition is also the second-largest in Denmark’s history, only trailing Novo Holdings A/S’ US$16.5bil deal for Catalent Inc.

On the Copenhagen exchange, Novo Nordisk is worth about US$615bil, roughly 25 times more than Maersk and 14 times more than DSV.

 - Bloomberg