Mergers and Acquisitions in the Maritime Transport Industry 1996—2000

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As), as an alternative to internally generated corporate growth, have increased on a global scale over the past two decades. What has been written about M&As in the maritime transport sector has focused on the most high‐profile of these, and on consolidations within sub‐sectors of the industry. Using a database of all M&As globally, and extracting the cases involving companies coded as being in the maritime transport sector, this article examines the overall pattern of maritime transport‐related M&As on a global scale from January 1, 1996 to December 31, 2000. It addresses the motivations for these M&As and finds that 40 percent of the M&As were cross‐border deals. A substantial number of all cases were either financial restructurings or acquisitions of assets (36 percent). The article examines a sample of the remaining 64 percent of cases on a case‐by‐case basis and concludes that the industry, while going through a period of consolidation, is also embarking on alternate patterns of growth, particularly strategic and synergist expansion. Target‐driven motives are also found. As minority acquisitions also play a significant role in the sector's strategic plans, they receive more attention.