TUI shareholder says unit worth $7.8 billion: paper

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The largest investor in German tourism group TUI (TUIGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper that the company's container-shipping unit is worth 5 billion euros ($7.8 billion) excluding debt.

That would be almost 50 percent more than the unit is valued in TUI's books, where it stands at 3.5 billion euros.

Should TUI, which is seeking to sell Hapag-Lloyd, not find a buyer prepared to pay that much, the company could spin off the business and give shares to TUI's existing investors, Norwegian investor John Frederiksen said, the paper reported.

Frederiksen, who holds 11.7 percent of TUI's shares and is the largest shareholder in the company, said he has spoken to several investors and their interest was serious, according to the paper.

The investors he has spoken to included the group of Klaus-Michael Kuehne, Frederiksen said, the paper reported.

Separately, TUI Chief Executive Michael Frenzel confirmed to Welt am Sonntag newspaper that he plans to cut debt with the sale and that the way TUI investors will participate in the proceeds has not been decided yet.

Interest for the business is "high" despite the credit crisis, Frenzel said, according to the paper.

German state-owned railway Deutsche Bahn DBN.UL is not planning to buy TUI, Frenzel said.

Fredriksen has opposed the company's twin-pillar strategy of shipping and tourism and has -- together with U.S. activist investor Guy Wyser-Pratte, who owns 1 percent of TUI shares -- won round the company to spinning off Hapag-Lloyd.