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TUI To Raise Stake In Hapag Consortium
2009/3/2
Germany''s TUI has agreed to take a larger stake in the Hamburg consortium which acquired TUI''s container shipping unit Hapag-Lloyd, Dow Jones reported.
TUI also said it is willing to provide Hapag-Lloyd with additional credit facilities.
The consortium and TUI have completed all requirements for the Hapag-Lloyd and expect closure within a week. The transaction still values Hapag-Lloyd at about US$5.7 billion
The tourism, travel and shipping company will increase its stake in the consortium to 43.33 percent from 33.33 percent previously and will buy these additional shares from Kuehne Holding, which remains a part of the consortium. The stakes of the other participants of the consortium will be unchanged.
The Hanover, Germany-based company can sell its additional stake at any time, but the consortium has a preemption right as well as the obligation to acquire the stake.
At the time that the ownership of Hapag-Lloyd changes, TUI will get $2 billion in liquidity, which is less than forecast due to the higher stake and because real estate holdings haven''t yet been divested.
To secure Hapag-Lloyd''s financial stability, TUI will provide further credit facilities of up to $1.3 billion
The higher stake in the consortium as well as the additional credit facilities are subject to approval by TUI''s supervisory board.
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2009/3/2