DP World, Deutsche Bahn bidding for 49% stake in HHLA

DP World, Deutsche Bahn bidding for 49% stake in HHLA Arab terminal operator Dubai Ports World and a consortium headed by logistics giant Deutsche Bahn have made bids for the 49 percent stake in Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), according to newspaper reports in Germany.
   The Financial Times Deutschland said that Deutsche Bahn, together with a holding company of Morgan Stanley, has bid between 1.1 billion euros and 1.2 billion euros ($1.45 billion-$1.58 billion) for the Hamburg-based port operator and logistics company, while Hamburger Abendblatt said that DP World has offered to pay 1.6 billion euros ($2.1 billion) for the stake.
   In 2006, HHLA's total throughput increased 18 percent to 6.6 million TEUs with its flagship Hamburg terminals up 16.1 percent to 6.1 million TEUs. The group also saw significant increases in L'beck (up 88 percent) and Odessa in the Ukraine (up 46 percent).
   As a result, HHLA said its turnover was up 20 percent on the previous year, climbing to more than 1 billion euros, and expects an after-tax profit in excess of 100 million euros, following 64 million euros in 2005.