Morgan Stanley Deal Fuels Tui Takeover Rumors

Industry observers believe that Tui, Europe's largest tourism group by sales, is being lined up for takeover after news broke on Wednesday that Morgan Stanley, the US investment bank, had raised its stake in the tour operator to more than 10 percent, fuelling renewed speculation over a buy-out. Rumors of an impending takeover have been rife since WestLB, the publicly-owned German bank, said a year ago that it wanted to sell its 31 percent stake. Morgan Stanley, which increased its stake from about 5 percent in May to 10.1 percent as of July 20, is understood to have acted on behalf of unknown clients.