The international investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort upgraded the Maersk share and thus sent the investors a clear message to keep their Maersk shares instead of selling them, which was earlier the bank’s recommendation. On the other hand, speculations of a possible take-over of Hapag Lloyd are increasing.

According to the bank the freight rates give cause for some optimism in the wake of a disastrous 2006 for the container unit of the Maersk empire. Apparently the cycle has hit bottom and things can nearly only get better. And in the last week the share has also been rising.

“2007 will be a year with slightly falling or, if they are lucky, flat rates. There is a lot of capacity in the container market although we may have seen the worst. The rates are still falling on some routes while they are rising on others. It is still a very rough market but most of it has been factored into the share price,” analyst Mark McVicar told RB-Børsen.

In the meantime the speculations about a possible takeover of TUI’s Hapag Lloyd are increasing. Both companies aren’t giving any comments on the speculations. A possible takeover will strengthen Maersk position in the container market. Maersk is having the name in the market that “if they can not beat them, they will buy them”. Hapag Lloyd seems to be for sale, and Maersk will not like that a competitor or even its biggest client Kuehne & Nagel will have the honors. Furthermore, it is expected that Maersk will announce a major loss over the year 2006. A possible take-over can let swift away the negative impact of this news. But is it wise for Maersk to do so? In practice the company is still suffering from the P&O Nedlloyd merger, which didn’t bring the fortune they have hoped for. It is not likely that Maersk is recovered that much that they can take the burden of a Hapag-Lloyd takeover.

Sources: Börsen Online

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