Kuehne ups stake in Hapag-Lloyd to 17.15%

Klaus-Michael Kuehne of Kuehne Holding took advantage of TUI’s sale of its shares in the German ocean shipping company to increase his own ownership stake, according to multiple news sources.    Klaus-Michael Kuehne of Swiss-based Kuenhe Holding has raised his shareholding in Hapag-Lloyd from 14.1 percent to 17.15 percent, according to multiple news sources.
   Kuehne upped his shares after the tourism group TUI sold its remaining 7.9 percent of shares in the German shipping line. 
   “The ongoing shipping industry consolidation offers Hapag-Lloyd new growth perspectives and strengthens its positions among the most important shipping companies across the world,” Kuehne Holding executive chairman Karl Gernandt said. Gernandt became President of Kuehne Holding in March of last year.
   Kuehne started investing in Hapag-Lloyd in 2008 to support the company’s Hamburg base agaisnt Singapore-based shipping rival NOL, according to Reuters.
   Apart from Kuehne, Hapag-Lloyd’s biggest shareholders are the city of Hamburg and fellow ocean shipping company UASC. The Arab carrier officially merged with Hapag-Lloyd in May of this year.