West German retail group Kaufhof AG&lt;KFHG.F> is considering taking a stake in shipping and
transport group Hapag-Lloyd AG &lt;HPLG.F> but has yet to reach a
final decision, a spokesman said in response to queries.
    Press reports said Kaufhof wanted a stake of up to 12.5 pct
in Hapag-Lloyd.
    The Kaufhof spokesman noted any decision on purchasing
shares in the shipping group would have to be approved by the
supervisory board, which is due to hold a meeting tomorrow.
    Late last year the Gevaert group of Belgium and West
Germany's VEBA AG &lt;VEBG.F> said they had each acquired a 12.5
pct stake in Hapag-Lloyd from Deutsche Bank AG &lt;DBKG.F> and
Dresdner Bank AG &lt;DRSD.F>.
     Industry sources estimate Deutsche and Dresdner,
Hapag-Lloyd's majority shareholders, held about 75 pct of
Hapag-Lloyd's share capital before selling portions of it to
Gevaert and VEBA.
    The two banks have said they eventually wanted to reduce
their stake in the shipping group to 15 pct each.
 REUTER
