TUI May Float Remaining Hapag-Lloyd Stake

German travel company TUI said it may try again to float its stake in Hapag-Lloyd as part of its bid to get completely out of the container shipping business.

TUI said Tuesday that as part of a deal with the Albert Ballin consortium, Hapag's majority shareholder, it would cut its stake in the container carrier to about 22 percent from 38.4 percent. The company said it stands to receive $916 million in cash from the consortium.

TUI previously failed to agree on a full sale to the consortium.

In order to make a complete exit from container shipping and focus on its tourism operations, TUI retains the right to call for an initial public offering of Hapag shares, with priority placement of the shares held by TUI any time from June on.

Contact Peter T. Leach at pleach@joc.com.