German container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd has placed about $700 million in senior notes in the capital market, 40 percent more than planned after attracting strong investor demand, a stakeholder in the firm said.

Hapag, the world's fifth-largest container shipping company, also entered into a $360 million syndicated credit line, said German tourism group TUI , which owns a 43 percent in Hapag, in a statement.

Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters in August that Hapag was planning a bond issue to give itself some financial independence from TUI.

TUI, the owner of Europe's largest tour operator TUI Travel Plc , in 2008 agreed to sell the majority of Hapag-Lloyd to the Albert Ballin consortium of investors.

But the financial crisis derailed the deal, and TUI ended up keeping a larger-than-planned 43 percent stake and giving Hapag-Lloyd loans of about 2.5 billion euros ($3.4 billion).

In addition, Hapag-Lloyd secured a pledge for 1.2 billion euros in German state loan guarantees, which it has now terminated, allowing it to resume interest and redemption payments on loans granted to it by TUI.

"TUI expects payments from Hapag-Lloyd of around 65 million euros on deferred interest as well as the 227 million euros redemption payment of the bridge loan at the beginning of November 2010," TUI said in the statement.

TUI also said it had issued 100 million euros of private placements by the end of September with maturities in August 2014.

"The envisaged Hapag-Lloyd repayments and the new private placements enhance TUI's liquidity position," TUI said. (Reuters)