Shares in TUI Travel have fallen on the London Stock Exchange following unconfirmed reports that its German majority shareholder TUI AG has delayed plans to sell its 49.8% stake in container shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd.
TUI AG was believed to have been planning to use money raised by a flotation of Hapag-Lloyd next month to buy the shares it does not own in TUI Travel, though the company has never confirmed such a move.
However, it has already said that it wants to focus on its tourism business, but according to a report by Reuters, the company has postponed its planned flotation of Hapag-Lloyd, estimated to be worth a total of between €3bn and €3.5bn, due to a fall in global stock markets caused by the Japan nuclear crisis, political unrest in the Middle East and rising oil prices.
TUI Travel has not commented on the reports. Its shares fell 1.9% following initial reports that the flotation had been delayed and they were down a further 0.7% by the start of trading today.
By Linsey McNeill
