Travco chairman El-Chiaty eyes increase in TUI stake

MAJOR SPONSOR: TUI signed a 3-year deal with the German national football team this month. (Getty Images)

Egyptian tourism entrepreneur Hamed El-Chiaty said on Monday that he is ready to increase his holding in German tour operator TUI.

"I am waiting for a chance to up my TUI stake," he told newswire Reuters on the sidelines of TUI's 40-year anniversary.
 
"I'm waiting for my advisors to tell me now is a good time."

The tycoon, chairman of Egyptian tour operator Travco which is a long-term business partner of TUI, had regained a stake of just over 3 percent in the company in April after lending it out following the annual shareholder meeting in May 2007, only to sell most of it again in May of this year.

Traco Group is Egypt's largest tourism conglomerate, operating 900 vehicles, 20 Nile cruisers, and three hotel chains with 48 hotels under ownership by 2010, according to its website.

The privately-held group says it has 3 billion Egyptian pounds ($545 million) in assets and branches in Japan, China and the Gulf.

TUI shares have lost half their market value so far this year. El-Chiaty declined to say what price would mark a buying opportunity for him.

Another shareholder, Carmen Riu, in turn told Reuters she planned to keep her 5 percent stake in the German tourism company unchanged.

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