German shipping line Hapag-Lloyd has announced that it will be listing its shares on the Hamburg and Frankfurt stock exchanges, with the initial public offering (IPO) potential valuing the company at several billion dollars, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The proceeds will be used to strengthen its finances and to boost investment.
On the back of this announcement, Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag Lloyd said that the future of container shipping is going to look much brighter than the current scenario and expects to see growth in the coming years.
However, realistically, the shipping line said it expects to raise around $500 million from the listing, with principal shareholders Kuehne Maritime and CSAV committed to buying $50 million of Hapag-Lloyd stock.
Hapag-Lloyd said that the remaining $400 million will come from the sale of new shares to institutional and retail investors.
The company’s biggest shareholder is CSAV, with a 34% stake, which was announced recently in a bid to strengthen its operating position.
