"Analyst briefings are to start on Feb. 15," one of the people said, adding analysts will get access to core financial data they can use to prepare an investment case on the company.
An initial public offering (IPO) of Hapag-Lloyd, the world's fifth-largest container shipping line, is seen as a first step in a strategic reshuffle at TUI, which may lead to a combination of TUI and its British unit TUI Travel.
TUI aims to sell about half of its 49.8 percent stake in Hapag-Lloyd. It has said its investment in Hapag is worth some at 2 billion euros ($2.7 billion), of which 1.5 billion euros is equity.
The owners of Hapag-Lloyd in December picked Credit Suisse , Goldman Sachs and Greenhill to start preparations for a listing.
"The owners aim to float Hapag-Lloyd before Easter," an investment banker said, but a source close to Hapag-Lloyd's owners cautioned that date may prove ambitious. Easter falls on April 24 this year.
"It will definitely happen before the summer break. But it is not fully clear yet if the 2010 annual results or the first-quarter 2011 figures will be used for the prospectus," the person said.
A TUI spokesman said no decision on a possible IPO had yet been taken. The Albert Ballin investor group -- which owns 50.2 percent of Hapag-Lloyd and which includes the state of Hamburg as well as Klaus-Michael Kuehne, majority owner of logistics group Kuehne & Nagel -- declined to comment.
HOPES FOR QATAR
In parallel with preparations for an IPO, the owners of Hapag-Lloyd still hope to find a new anchor investor who could take a stake of between 10 and 20 percent in the company, several people said. But major private equity players may not be interested.
"Financial sponsors like Blackstone , Apollo or Carlyle have not shown large interest yet, as they usually head for majority stakes," an investment banker said.
Hopes remain for money from cash-rich nations such as Qatar -- which has recently built up stakes in carmaker Volkswagen and construction group Hochtief -- but it is unclear whether any will materialise.
"Talks with Qatar are at an early stage," a person close to the negotiations said, adding that Qatar had shown interest in taking a 20 percent stake in CMA CGM, which Turkish investor Yildirim had secured.
TUI AG's latest shakeup comes after it merged its travel operations with Britain's First Choice in 2007, floating a minority stake in the new business on the London Stock Exchange as TUI Travel.
A year later, it agreed to sell a majority of Hapag-Lloyd to the Albert Ballin consortium to focus on tourism. But the financial crisis derailed the deal and TUI ended up keeping a larger chunk of Hapag-Lloyd than it had planned.
"Despite the broad improvement of economic sentiment, floating a shipping group is a difficult task," an investment banker said, adding Hapag-Lloyd was likely to face a substantial valuation discount to rivals.
In the financial crisis, Hapag-Lloyd accumulated heavy losses as trade volumes slumped and the group even turned to the German government for aid, which in the event it did not have to use. (Reuters)
