Hapag-Lloyd looks to launch IPO sooner than planned

The German ocean carrier advanced its timetable on plans to launch a stock market flotation as a result of positive second quarter financial results.    German ocean carrier Hapag-Lloyd aims to launch preparations for an initial public offering (IPO) in September, which is sooner than it originally planned, as a result of strong financial results, four financial sources told news outlet Reuters.
   Hapag-Lloyd’s shares would then be able to trade on the Frankfurt stock exchange as early as October.
   The German carrier originally planned to list its shares at the end of 2015, or in 2016, but successful earnings in the second quarter, which will be released by the end of the month, encouraged company officials to aim for a September launch.
   Hapag-Lloyd also reported strong first quarter results as a result of the strong U.S. dollar, lower bunker fuel prices and its merger with CSAV in Dec. 2014.
   Hapag-Lloyd operates a fleet of 190 containerships with a container stock of over 1.6 million TEUs. The German carrier is owned by CSAV (34 percent), the City of Hamburg (23.2 percent),  Kühne Maritime (20.8 percent), TUI (13.9 percent), Signal Iduna (3.3 percent), HSH Nordbank (1.8 percent), an investor pool led by  M.M.Warburg & CO (1.8 percent) and HanseMerkur (1.1 percent).