TUI sells Hapag-Lloyd stake to Albert Ballin for US$439 million

HANOVER-based tour operator TUI announced that it intends to sell 11.33 per cent of Hapag-Lloyd shares to another shareholder Albert Ballin consortium for EUR315 million (US$439 million).

Holding 49.8 per cent of Hapag-Lloyd, TUI said it plans to sell up to 30 per cent through an initial public offering (IPO), reports Newark's Journal of Commerce. If carried out, the IPO needs to be approved by Albert Ballin shareholders and the deal may raise $49 million.



According to London's Containerisation International, Albert Ballin will additionally pay up to EUR35 million TUI after the IPO.



The flotation was first scheduled to take place April 15 and expected to raise $1.4 to $2.1 billion, said two people close to the deal, said Bloomberg. "That may give a valuation of $3.9 billion to $4.9 billion, depending on demand."



Albert Ballin is a Hamburg-based investment group. Its major shareholders include German billionaire Klaus Michael Kuehne, MM Warburg, HSH Nordbank and Hamburg's state government.



Hapag-Lloyd appears to be happy with the deal, reported Containerisation International, because it will make the German carrier keep the carrier in Hamburg with a major German shareholder owning 61.6 per cent.