Tui AG to reduce stake in Hapag-Lloyd

German travel giant Tui AG’s stake in container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd will drop to 13.9% following a tie-up with Chilean firm Compania SudAmericana de Vapores.

Tui, which also controls Europe’s largest tour operator Tui Travel, currently owns 22% of Hapag-Lloyd.

The shareholding will drop first to 15% as part of the merger and then to 13.9% because Tui will not participate in a planned capital increase.

The deal between Vapores and Hapag-Lloyd will create the world’s fourth-largest container-shipping company.

Tui, which has long planned to exit container shipping, will also get priority placement rights for its remaining stake as part of Hapag-Lloyd’s planned stock market flotation in 2015, it said in an internal letter seen by Reuters.

Hapag Lloyd takes delivery of new cruise ship

Hapag Lloyd takes delivery of new cruise ship

By Tom Stieghorst
The Europa 2 was transferred from the STX France shipyard to Hapag Lloyd Cruises, which will sail the new ship in the Mediterranean this summer.

The 516-passenger Europa 2 is the first newbuild for the luxury German operator in over a decade.

The $360 million cruise ship will be christened in Hamburg on May 10 and sail a 14-day maiden voyage to Lisbon.