Hapag-Lloyd Advances Plans for $500 Million IPO

By Angela Cullen and Nicholas Brautlecht

(Bloomberg) — Hapag-Lloyd AG, Germany’s largest transport line, is searching for to lift $500 million from the sale of latest shares because it presses forward with an preliminary public providing at the same time as a Chinese slowdown and a rout in Volkswagen AG shares sparked turmoil on inventory markets.

Hapag-Lloyd expects to lift about $400 million from the sale of shares to institutional and retail traders, the Hamburg-based firm stated in an announcement Monday. Core shareholders Kuehne Maritime and Cia. Sud Americana de Vapores, or CSAV, have agreed to put extra orders for a complete of $100 million.

The proceeds can be used “for further investments in ships and containers to further strengthen its capital structure, long-term growth and profitability,” the corporate stated within the assertion.

A return to first-half revenue prompted Hapag-Lloyd to push forward with its IPO plan. The firm is relying on volumes rising a mean 3 p.c to five p.c over the following 5 years, Chief Executive Officer Rolf Habben Jansen stated in a Sept. 23 interview in Hamburg. Hapag-Lloyd final 12 months merged with transport property of Chile’s CSAV to create the world’s fourth- largest container line by capability.

TUI AG, which owns 14 p.c of Hapag-Lloyd, plans to promote shares within the IPO, in accordance with the assertion. Kuehne Maritime and CSAV have agreed to carry a stake of at the least 51 p.c for 10 years and to pool their voting rights.

Berenberg, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs International will handle the sale as joint world coordinators and bookrunners. Citigroup, Credit Suisse, HSBC and UniCredit are extra joint bookrunners and DZ Bank, ING and M.M. Warburg & Co. will act as co-lead managers.

Volkswagen slid 34 p.c final week, dragging Germany’s benchmark DAX Index down 2.3 p.c, after the carmaker admitted dishonest on U.S. emissions checks for years.