TUI moving closer to sale of stake in Hapag-Lloyd
GERMAN travel group TUI looks set to agree the sale of its stake in container shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd to majority shareholder the Albert Ballin consortium this week.
A spokesman for the finance authority for the city state of Hamburg, part of the Albert Ballin consortium, said it was quite possible that a deal would be announced on Wednesday, when TUI holds its annual shareholder meeting. A TUI spokesman told Reuters news agency: “We are in advanced and good talks.”
TUI has for months been inching toward a deal that would keep the world’s fifth-biggest container shipper in German hands, as well as being affordable for the city of Hamburg and other consortium members.
The Ballin group of investors also includes Klaus-Michael Kuehne, the majority owner of Swiss group Kuehne & Nagel. Sources said earlier this month that the consortium may buy 20 per cent of Hapag-Lloyd.