Talks over a tie-up between Germany's TUI AG , owner of container shipper Hapag-Lloyd, and Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) have nearly collapsed, the Asian Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, citing two sources familiar with the deal.
'The talks have all but broke down. The parties may return to the discussions at some point, but now they are going nowhere,' one of the sources told the paper.
Another person said disagreements on who would run the merged company, which would be one of the world's largest container- shipping enterprises, and opposition from TUI's shareholders were among the reasons for the impasse, it said. TUI declined to comment on the report yesterday.
There has been continuing speculation that TUI and Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings could merge their shipping operations. Temasek holds 68 per cent in Neptune Orient Lines.
'The talks have all but broke down. The parties may return to the discussions at some point, but now they are going nowhere,' one of the sources told the paper.
Another person said disagreements on who would run the merged company, which would be one of the world's largest container- shipping enterprises, and opposition from TUI's shareholders were among the reasons for the impasse, it said. TUI declined to comment on the report yesterday.
There has been continuing speculation that TUI and Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings could merge their shipping operations. Temasek holds 68 per cent in Neptune Orient Lines.