NOL Chief Executive Thomas Held confirmed last month that he was interested in buying Hapag-Lloyd, and TUI said it was in the process of approaching potential buyers.
One rival bid likely will come from the city of Hamburg, which has taken a 20% stake in a consortium that plans to make an offer for Hapag-Lloyd, Hamburg Financial Secretary Michael Freytag said Tuesday. While the consortium would give Hamburg an indirect stake in Hapag-Lloyd, Mr. Freytag said the city doesn't rule out taking a direct stake.
Other members of the newly formed consortium are German logistics company Kuhne Holding AG and Hamburg private bank M.M. Warburg & Co.
"NOL is not too concerned about the German bid. National feelings aside, the city of Hamburg's offer sounds complicated, and in this process, money and how fast you can dole it out will be the determining factor," the second person familiar with the deal said.
Analysts said a tie-up between NOL and Hapag-Lloyd makes sense, as NOL is active on the trans-Pacific route but has little overlap with Hapag-Lloyd's Europe-oriented business.
NOL is controlled by Singapore state-owned investment company Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd.