Kuhne Increases 30% Stake In Hapag Lloyd Business

Klaus-Michael Kühne has increased his stake in container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd to 30% as planned.

Germany’s largest liner shipping company is now owned 30% by Hamburg citizen Kuehne and 30% by the Chilean shipping company CSAV.

The city of Hamburg holds 13.9% of the shares and the state funds of Qatar and Saudi Arabia together hold 22.5%, a legacy from Hapag-Lloyd’s merger with UASC a few years ago.

Karl Gernandt, head of Kuehne Holding said“Kuehne Holding AG’s commitment is of a long-term nature and the recent increase in our share underlines trust in Hapag-Lloyd even in times of crisis.

There is still 3.6% of the free float listed.

In a note to clients yesterday, Rolf Habben Jansen, the Dutch CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, highlighted the carrier’s strong digital portfolio of services, urging customers to book more items online during the Covid-19 crisis.

“At this time we all need to focus, to restructure some of our processes and to overcome the challenge that our teams are very often split and the majority of employees work from home,” Habben Jansen wrote, concluding: “Let’s go digital – and make your life easier with our various digital solutions customized to your needs.”