Travel giant TUI mulls Hapag-Lloyd stake sale as stock rises

THE major shareholder and former owner of German container line Hapag-Lloyd may sell off its 43 per cent stake in the consortium that now controls the carrier, Reuters reports.

German tourism giant TUI, which sold in 2008, a 57 per cent stake in Hapag-Lloyd to a consortium of Hamburg-based investors, is believed to have contacted investment to organise the sale through a public share offering.

"We will not rule out that it will happen, but at the moment we have not told banks to prepare for a sale," TUI told Reuters.

The company reportedly values its share of Hapag-Lloyd, currently the world's fifth-largest ocean liner, at US$3.3 billion. Its equity interest in the container line is scheduled to rise by the end of 2010 due to the maturation of convertible bonds it holds in Hapag-Lloyd, said American Shipper.

Hapag-Lloyd posted an operating profit of $687 million for the first three quarters of the year, a remarkable recovery from the huge loss it suffered in 2009 that forced its owners to secure a $2 billion loan guarantee from the German government.
(Source:www.schednet.com)