International Herald Tribune
23 Jun 2008
SINGAPORE: Neptune Orient Lines of Singapore, one of the biggest container shippers in the world, is looking to raise $5 billion to $7 billion in loans, bankers said Monday, the clearest sign yet it will bid for Hapag-Lloyd of Germany.
The merger of the two companies could potentially create the No. 3 container shipping group, behind A.P. Moller-Maersk, a Danish shipping group, and Mediterranean Shipping, which is privately owned.
The talks come as Michael Frenzel, the chief executive of the German tourism group TUI, is touring Asia to market his company's container shipping business, Hapag-Lloyd, which analysts value at around $7 billion, including debt.
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