On June 21, Maersk Line management board member Jakob Stausholm suggested that Maersk might be open to “the right opportunity” in M&A, in an interview to Reuters.
- “The industry is really suffering” – Maersk board member
- Rivals in wave of dealmaking to survive downturn
- Maersk might be open to “the right opportunity” in M&A
- Some investors sceptical on benefits of acquisitions
Denmark’s Maersk Line is fighting to remain the world’s no.1 container shipping carrier as a wave of mergers and acquisitions, particularly in Asia, creates new challengers trying to grab a bigger share of a depressed market.
Maersk itself hasn’t made a major acquisition for more than a decade but says it might be open to “the right opportunity”, although doubters believe such deals risk accumulating ships without securing enough customers.
A unit of oil and shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk , the line has a 15 percent share of the overall container market. However, it faces Chinese rivals with global ambitions as well as more traditional Western competitors which are buying up assets in Asia.
The battle is over the world container trade, and especially between Asian ports – one of the few relatively bright spots for an industry suffering its worst downturn since its origins in the 1950s and 1960s.
“It’s really tough and everybody in the industry is really suffering, and so have we,” Jakob Stausholm, a member of Maersk Line’s management board, told Reuters.
“We are defending our leadership position. If we are strong, there is no reason for us not to grow,” said Stausholm, who is the line’s chief strategy and transformation officer.
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Source: Reuters
