TUI eyes sell-off of Hapag-Lloyd stake

TUI eyes sell-off of Hapag-Lloyd stake    A major shareholder and former owner of German container line Hapag-Lloyd is reportedly eyeing a sale of its 43 percent stake, according to a report by Reuters Friday.
   European tourism giant TUI, which in 2008 sold a 57 percent stake in Hapag-Lloyd to a consortium of Hamburg-based investors, has contacted investment to organize the sale through a public share offering.
   TUI told the news agency 'we will not rule out that it will happen, but at the moment we have not' told banks to prepare for a sale. The company reportedly values its share of Hapag-Lloyd, currently the world's fifth-largest liner carrier, at roughly $3.3 billion. Its stake in the container line is due to rise by the end of 2010 due to the maturation of convertible bonds it holds in Hapag-Lloyd.
   The container line has seen a dramatic reversal in economic fortunes this year, swinging from a huge loss in 2009 — that prompted its owners to secure a nearly $2 billion loan guarantee from the German government — to $687 million in operating profits through the first three quarters of this year.