(new: Resolution MDax)

HANNOVER (dpa-AFX) - The shareholders of the world's largest travel group Tui have cleared the way for a withdrawal from the London Stock Exchange and a possible return to the German mid-cap index MDax. At the virtual Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, the shareholders voted in favor of the planned withdrawal from the London Stock Exchange with 98.35 percent of the votes cast. The required three-quarters majority was thus achieved, explained Supervisory Board Chairman Dieter Zetsche after the vote in Hanover.

Trading in Tui shares in London is to be discontinued on June 24, after which the shares will only be listed in Frankfurt and Hanover. The main stock exchange will then be Frankfurt instead of London. This should also enable Tui to return to the MDax. "We would expect to be included in the MDax in June," said CFO Mathias Kiep. In return, Tui would leave the British FTSE 250 index.

Encouragement from small shareholders

There was encouragement from shareholder representatives at the meeting. "The Tui share is coming home again," said Marc Tüngler, Managing Director of the Deutsche Schutzvereinigung für Wertpapierbesitz (DSW). "This is a sign of a return to normality." Josef Gemmeke from Schutzgemeinschaft der Kapitalanleger (SdK) agreed that the move was in the interests of shareholders.

The Group expects cost savings from the concentration on Frankfurt and greater demand for its shares from index funds as a result of its inclusion in the MDax. The move will also help the Group to secure the conditions for air traffic rights in the EU in the future, it was said. This is because the EU requires that an airline such as Tuifly, which flies within the EU, must be majority-owned and controlled by owners from the EU.

London withdrawal helps with EU flight rights

There has been no problem here so far, even after the UK's withdrawal from the EU, emphasized CEO Sebastian Ebel. "We have enough European shareholders today, even without the United Kingdom." This will be reinforced by the withdrawal from London, where more international investors traditionally buy. For European airlines such as Tuifly, there is "not even a hint of a problem", says Ebel. On the other hand, he does not expect difficulties for the British Tui Airways. "We don't have that problem there. The British are much more generous than the EU."

Russian major shareholder Alexei Mordashov, who once held more than 30 percent of Tui, is also no longer a burden. Due to the capital increase last year, his stake has fallen to just 11 percent, according to Ebel. "He no longer plays a role for us."/fjo/DP/ngu