The German City of Hamburg has acquired a 20 percent stake in a consortium that plans to make a bid for TUI's container shipping business Hapag-Lloyd.
The city also did not rule out taking a direct stake in Hapag-Lloyd.
Other members of the newly-formed consortium are German logistics company Kuehne Holding and Hamburg-based private bank M M Warburg & Co.
Hapag-Lloyd is valued at around US$6.27 billion.
Another party interested in Hapag-Lloyd is Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines (NOL). If NOL and Hapag-Lloyd merged, NOL would become the world's third largest player in terms of capacity.
Hapag-Lloyd’s second largest shareholder, with a stake of just over 10 percent, is Russian self-made billionaire Alexey Mordashov, who is chief executive and majority owner of Russian steel maker Severstal.
The city also did not rule out taking a direct stake in Hapag-Lloyd.
Other members of the newly-formed consortium are German logistics company Kuehne Holding and Hamburg-based private bank M M Warburg & Co.
Hapag-Lloyd is valued at around US$6.27 billion.
Another party interested in Hapag-Lloyd is Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines (NOL). If NOL and Hapag-Lloyd merged, NOL would become the world's third largest player in terms of capacity.
Hapag-Lloyd’s second largest shareholder, with a stake of just over 10 percent, is Russian self-made billionaire Alexey Mordashov, who is chief executive and majority owner of Russian steel maker Severstal.