There are scenarios that require a lot of imagination, but often these are particularly appealing. Such a scenario is currently being discussed in Hamburg, and it starts out on the Elbe. Whenever fresh goods arrive at the port of Hamburg by container ship, the city is also personally involved: it holds 69 percent of the shares in Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), so it is very interested in trade on the quay walls going smoothly. Trade has a centuries-old tradition in Hamburg, it has a permanent place in the DNA of the city and many residents. Would it really be conceivable that the city would sell its port? The outcry would probably be quite large. Roughly the size of Cologne selling its cathedral or Berlin bequeathing the Brandenburg Gate to a resourceful investor.
The fact that such thoughts are now circulating on the Elbe is due to the economic situation of the port – and to Klaus-Michael Kühne: The 86-year-old billionaire lives in Switzerland, but is still very attached to his hometown. So much so that in an interview he now dem Hamburg evening paper said he wanted to take over the port operator HHLA. He has already twice submitted a proposal to the Hamburg Senate to acquire a majority stake in HHLA. Without success, but the topic does not let him go. “I’m considering making an official takeover bid for the majority of HHLA shares,” said Kühne. It’s not about returns, it’s about helping the city.
Klaus-Michael Kühne also supports many cultural and sports projects.
(Photo: Axel Heimken/dpa)
Being the savior in an emergency is a phenomenon that has often accompanied Kühne’s investments. He supports many cultural and sports projects. In Hamburger SV, for example, he recently pumped another 30 million euros, when the footballers had just missed out on promotion to the Bundesliga again. Now he also wants to protect the port from being relegated to the second league of maritime trade: The turnover figures on the Elbe have recently collapsed, by almost 13 percent in the first half of the year. Profits and sales are shrinking while European competitors in Amsterdam and Rotterdam are pulling away, even expanding terminals. “I’m seriously worried about the port,” said Kühne evening paper, “it is badly structured, badly managed and cannot keep up with the competition in some seaports; too little is happening to become more efficient.” The city let the port wither away.
Kühne invests in logistics, shipping companies and also in Lufthansa
“We can confirm that the Senate does not intend to sell the majority of HHLA to investors for the purpose of pursuing private business interests,” the Senate said about the initiative, adding: “Incidentally, the Senate is refraining from the political assessments of Mr Bold to comment.” A spokeswoman for HHLA reports that the global economy is difficult overall, but “HHLA is on a solid footing and has proven its resilience even under the current challenging conditions”.
The fact that Kühne is flirting with new investment projects is also due to the dividends that his other businesses have recently brought in. In addition to the logistics group Kühne + Nagel, he already owns 30 percent of the shipping company Hapag-Lloyd and 15 percent of the Lufthansa group, he already owns a part of Hamburg, real estate is still to come. “Thanks to the record dividends that were paid last year, we would like to make a larger investment. A port terminal would be a very good fit for this,” said Kühne. Hapag-Lloyd could also be considered as a potential buyer.
And then he gave a foretaste of the port of the future: Big shipping companies could be more closely tied to Hamburg if they were allowed to hold stakes in terminals, said Kühne. However, HHLA recently had its own experience with the Chinese shipping company Cosco how difficult such investments can be in Germany.