DP World leading bid race for Hamburg port

DP World Ports is leading a global race to buy into the operator of the German port of Hamburg, a newspaper reported.
Local newspaper Hamburger Abendblatt said DP World has offered to pay 1.6 billion euros (US$2.10 billion) and bring additional ship traffic to the world's eighth-largest container port. The city, which is currently looking into a share float or selling a 49.9-per cent stake in the port operator Hamburger Hafen-und Lagerhaus (HHLA), declined to comment on the report.
The HHLA said last week it might float as early as September 2007, depending on the decision of Hamburg's city parliament.
Other possible bidders for HHLA are, according to media reports, German railway Deutsche Bahn, German builder Hochtief as well as British venture capital group 3i, Allianz Capital and Australia's Macquarie Bank.
The paper quoted the head of the HHLA's works council, Arno Muenster, as saying that the city was favouring the offers by Dubai and Deutsche Bahn.
The city parliament is due to decide on the future of HHLA by the middle of the year. In 2006, HHLA handled 6.1 million standard container units at its terminals in the port of Hamburg, a growth rate of 16.1 per cent. The firm's works council opposes a sale to a private investor and has demanded to float a maximum of 30 per cent, threatening to stage protests otherwise. (Source: Reuters)