Singapore''s NOL looking at possible Hapag-Lloyd merger
Neptune Orient Lines, a container shipping line, is looking at a merger with German container liner Hapag-Lloyd as an option to expand its business, the Singapore group's chief executive said on Wednesday. The comments come after Hapag Lloyd's parent, German tourism-to-shipping company TUI, last month bowed to investor pressure and agreed to look at selling the business. "We have to look at all opportunities. So of course we have to look at this," NOL Chief Executive Thomas Held told reporters on the sidelines of the group's annual general meeting.Held, who is German, said it was too early to talk about concrete steps given that TUI had made little progress in its plans to spin off the world's fifth-biggest container shipping group."We have to see what's the next step happening in Germany...I have said we want to take an active role in consolidation."Earlier this month, an industry source told Reuters that TUI has held talks with NOL, controlled by Singapore state investor Temasek [TEM.UL], over Hamburg-based Hapag-Lloyd.The companies established contact after a TUI supervisory board meeting in mid-March that agreed to split up the group, said the source, who is familiar with the situation at TUI.Analysts have said that a merger between Hapag-Lloyd and NOL would make sense and could generate synergies as NOL's focus is on trans-Pacific routes, while Hapag-Lloyd is more focused on trans-Atlantic and Asia-Europe routes.
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