%0 Journal Article %T SHIP OF FOOLS OR PASSAGE TO PROFIT? ¨C THE VALUE IMPLICATIONS OF M&A IN THE INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING INDUSTRY %A Christian Kammlott %A Dirk Schiereck %J International Journal of Economics and Research %D 2011 %I Sanben Agency %X The globalization of markets during the past decades has led to an increasing international division of labor which demands a higher capacity in carriage of freight among the involved regions. The outcome of this is inter alia a continuously growing demand for international maritime transport. At present, approximately 90% of the globally traded goods are transacted by seaway. Unsurprisingly, it has resulted in significant structural changes in the international shipping industry. These changes were attended by Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A). Using the event study methodology, we examine the success of the worldwide M&A activities in the shipping industry during the period of 1980 ¨C 2007. We analyze the value effects of these acquisitions from a shareholder value perspective. Despite generally positive underlying data of the world economy and numerous beneficial arguments from initiators of consolidation activity in the transportation sector, the results indicate that M&A transactions in the maritime transportation sector have resulted in an overall loss of shareholder value within the period of examination %K M&A %K acquisitions %K shipping industry %K maritime transportation sector %K Shareholder Value %K event study %U http://www.ijeronline.com/documents/volumes/Vol2issue3/ijer20110203(7).pdf