Hamburg ship brokers feeling depressed as weak Hapag-Lloyd IPO starts trading

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“Hamburg pays a high price”, said the headline in yesterday’s Die Welt, referring to the haircut that the port city expects to take on the discounted Hapag-Lloyd IPO, which began trading on the Frankfurt and Hamburg bourses this morning.

Indeed, some Hamburgers told The Loadstar at Hansa Heavy Lift’s (HHL) annual pre-Eisbein party last night, Hapag-Lloyd’s share offer had been little short of “a disaster”, with investors running for the hills from the offer price after container markets collapsed in September.

However, ...