Hapag-Lloyd co-owner Klaus-Michael Kuehne told German daily Die Welt during an interview that he wants Hamburg-Sued to have equal power after their plan to merge is completed.

Kuehne told that none of the two parties, which are the largest container shipping companies in Germany, will have the dominant position once the two companies are combined.

The two companies announced in December last year that they were aiming to create a global firm that would be able to survive in the ailing sector through a potential merger.

During an interview, Kuehne said that the Oetker family behind Hamburg-Sued is expected to take the new firm public in the medium term as the merger's precondition agreement.

Kuehne is expected to take Hapag-Lloyd public on its own if no agreement with Oetker can be decided.