TUI Travel parent TUI AG is preparing to sell a new stake in container shipping arm Hapag-Lloyd, in a move that is seen as the start of a ‘strategic reshuffle’.
Investment banks Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and Greenhill have been selected to prepare a possible flotation of a stake in the shipping company in 2011.
According to news agency Reuters, the IPO of Hapag-Lloyd – the fifth-largest container shipping company in the world – is seen as a first step towards TUI and its UK arm TUI Travel combining in 2012.
TUI AG will also continue to seek core minority investors for Hapag-Lloyd.