Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) has declined to comment on rumours that it was planning to borrow US$5 billion or more to buy rival shipping line, Hapag-Lloyd.
According to the Straits Times in Singapore, investors have raced for the exits, spooked by fears that the shipping line may have problems digesting such a huge acquisition.
If NOL does acquire the carrier - owned by German group TUI, Europe's largest travel firm - it will create the third largest container line in the world.
Depending on the details of any deal, Hapag-Lloyd would cost anywhere between $6 billion and $8 billion - far bigger than NOL's market value of $3.5 billion, the newspaper said.
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