INTERVIEW-Fredriksen eyes developing TUI shipping spin-off

By Wojciech Moskwa

OSLO, March 10 (Reuters) - Norwegian shipping magnate and TUI (TUIGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) shareholder John Fredriksen wants to develop the German group's shipping arm Hapag-Lloyd if his plans to spin off the division are carried out, his aide told Reuters on Monday.

Shares in TUI have been volatile amid market speculation that Fredriksen, who has a history of developing marine ventures, would seek greater control over Hapag-Lloyd if he was able to force the spin-off past a sceptical TUI management.

"We have a history of building companies, and that's what we want to do with Hapag-Lloyd as well," Tor Olav Troim, a top executive in numerous Fredriksen ventures, told Reuters.

"It's a fantastic starting point; they have very solid operations, a strong foothold in Hamburg, which is an effective hub for the central part of Europe, and they are very respected in the industry. However, they need to get larger in this market," Troim said in a telephone interview.

Troim confirmed media reports that Fredriksen had increased his stake in TUI from 5 percent to a level below 10 percent.

"We have increased our holding since the last filing, but have not crossed any new filing requirement threshold," he said. "We are not acting in concert with other shareholders, and we have not actively searched for any support in this case at all."

Fredriksen has been pushing TUI managers to split the $6.5 billion group, saying its mix of a tourism unit with a container shipping unit did not give maximum value to shareholders.