The move may include finding a new anchor investor for Hapag-Lloyd, which could be a sovereign wealth fund, one of the people, who is close to the owners of Hapag-Lloyd, told Reuter.
"Klaus-Michael Kuehne will up his stake by roughly 10 percent but remain below the 25 percent threshold", the person said.
Kuehne is the chairman and majority owner of Switzerland-based logistics company Kuehne + Nagel, and he formed, together with other investors, the Albert Ballin consortium to buy a majority stake in Hapag-Lloyd from TUI.
"But some of the other members of the Albert Ballin owner consortium -- HSH and MM Warburg -- will sell their stakes," another person close to the owners said.
The city state of Hamburg, where Hapag-Lloyd is based, will hold onto its stake for now but is looking to exit in the medium term, several people said.
Hamburg owns 41 percent of the Albert Ballin consortium, while Kuehne holds 27 percent.
The consortium currently owns 57 percent of Hapag-Lloyd but that stake will be diluted to about 50 percent by the end of this year when TUI exercises a convertible bond.
Free Float
"The aim is to have a block of investors post-IPO that has control over Hapag-Lloyd," the first person said, adding this may not have to be a majority stake.
A high free float of Hapag-Lloyd shares following an IPO could give a group shareholders with about 40 percent a majority of votes at shareholder meetings due to low participation levels at such gatherings.
TUI and the Albert Ballin consortium are currently gauging investor interest and are also reaching out to Singapore-based state fund Temasek the person said.
"Kuehne and TUI have good contacts (with) ... them and Temasek has shown interest in Hapag-Lloyd in the past," the person added.
Any new anchor investor could take a stake of up to about 10 percent, the person said.
Temasek could not be immediately reached for comment.
TUI said no decision has been made on the future ownership structure of Hapag-Lloyd. Hapag-Lloyd and its other owners declined to comment.
Last week, TUI and Albert Ballin picked three investment banks to prepare a possible flotation of a stake in the container shipping company in 2011
They said they will keep looking for strategic and financial investors interested in becoming core minority investors in Hapag-Lloyd.
Preparations for the IPO are expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2011, with a listing to take place as early as April, sources have said.
Hapag-Lloyd also wants to sell some new shares to stabilise its capital base and raise funds for new ships, several people familiar with the matter said.
"This could reach a volume of 350 million euros," the person close to Hapag-Lloyd's owners said.
The 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 combining TUI and its British unit TUI Travel Plc in 2012. (Reuters)
