The logistics company has doubled its stake in Lufthansa and now holds around ten percent of the shares.
(Photo: picture alliance / Christian Cha)
Frankfurt Klaus-Michael Kühne has increased at Lufthansa. The successful entrepreneur now owns 10.01 percent of Europe’s largest airline group. So far it had been five percent of the shares. This emerges from a voting rights notification from Lufthansa on Monday. Kühne bought through his investment company KA Logistik Beteiligungen GmbH, a subsidiary of Kühne Holding based in Hamburg.
Kühne speaks of an “excellent rounding off of the previous investment portfolio, in which logistical know-how is bundled via various independent investments”. He wants to be a “long-term, stable and reliable partner” for Lufthansa.
Kühne surprisingly joined Lufthansa about a month ago. The transaction brought back memories of Heinz Hermann Thiele. The entrepreneur and shareholder of the supplier Knorr-Bremse, who has since died, had invested in Lufthansa with a larger block of shares immediately before the pandemic began. In the meantime, the family has separated from most of the shares.
With Kühne the case is somewhat different. A few days ago, the entrepreneur spoke to the daily newspaper “Die Welt” for the first time about his motivation. He referred to the strong business of Lufthansa Cargo, Lufthansa’s freight subsidiary. So there is a strategic interest.
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At the same time, he indicated that he wanted to buy more shares. “We have increased our stake in Lufthansa and will continue to increase our commitment,” Kühne told the newspaper. Kühne is currently the second largest single shareholder in “Hansa”. The largest shareholder is the Federal Economic Stabilization Fund (WSF) with 14.09 percent. The state wants to reduce its participation in the next few months.
Does Kühne also want to be on the Lufthansa Supervisory Board?
It is still unclear whether Kühne will demand a seat on Lufthansa’s supervisory board. It would go with his approach. At his stake in Hapag-Lloyd, he has a seat on the supervisory board and would like to have a second one.
>>>Read about this: Why Klaus-Michael Kühne is joining Lufthansa as a major shareholder
Either way, Lufthansa will face an uncomfortable shareholder. The 84-year-old, who finances Hamburger SV and the Kühne Logistics University in Hamburg, once saved the Hapag-Lloyd shipping company from collapse and financially supported the construction of the Elbphilharmonie, is considered assertive.
Kuehne’s company Kuehne + Nagel is a major customer of Lufthansa Cargo in air freight. Kuehne + Nagel is also leasing two Boeing 747-8Fs from US charter and cargo airline Atlas Air Worldwide. The four-engine jet is the largest cargo aircraft on the market. Kuehne + Nagel wants to use the large-capacity freighters to strengthen the supply chains that have been fragile for months, especially on the transpacific connections.
The stake in the Cargo parent Lufthansa is part of his strategy to further expand his logistics empire – across all transport routes and worldwide. The entrepreneur can afford it. With an estimated fortune of at least 30 billion euros, Kühne is one of the richest entrepreneurs in Germany.
More: Dramatic increase in freight rates: Hapag-Lloyd ninefold net profit