Sale of Hapag Lloyd on verge of completion
February 6, 2012
The sale of container line Hapag-Lloyd could be completed in the next few weeks, according to people close to the process.
Tourism group Tui and the Hamburg-based Albert Ballin consortium are talking about the sale of Tui’s stake in the German boxline. However, according to a report in IFW’s sister publication Lloyd’s List, the agreement will eventually see Tui parting with a smaller stake than initially planned.
In December, Tui announced it would make use of its right to tender 33.3% of Hapag-Lloyd — out of its 38.4% stake — to the Albert Ballin consortium, which already owns 61.6%.
That triggered a complicated procedure which includes the right for Tui to ask an auditor to determine a sale price 30 days after the talks begin. This would have been at the beginning of February but Tui has delayed the move by one month, a spokesman confirmed.
However, the spokesman said: “Talks to find an agreement are in an advanced stage.”
Those close to the situation said Tui’s move to delay the involvement of an auditor was a positive sign that negotiations were on a good track.
“We believe that the chances of an agreement are higher than the risks of a failure of the talks,” one source said.
In any case, an agreement between both parties will likely only be reached for a smaller stake than the 33.3% initially intended. This is due to the Albert Ballin consortium’s inability to pay a price that Tui would accept for this stake.
Tui’s chief executive Michael Frenzel has said in the past that Tui and Albert Ballin could end up with an alternative agreement to that outlined in the tender procedure.
Under this agreement, Tui would have had to keep only 5.1% until the end of 2014, when it can draw another option. This stake will likely be higher now.
The tender procedure also gives Tui the right to sell 50.1% to any third-party investor if no agreement is reached by 3 September, 2012. The consortium would then have to provide the shares necessary to reach this majority stake.
Courtesy of IFW
