Wanna Argument?
Dubai Ports World takeover of P&O
When Dubai Ports World (DP World), a company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), agreed a £3.9 bn takeover of P&O, it also involved the transfer of ownership of six ports in the USA.
DP World's purchase meant that the six American ports in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans and Miami passed from a British-run firm (P&O) to Middle East control.
If a foreign company owns a country's land, what significance is there in the country's flag? © Keith Syvinski, Stock.Xchng
The shipping and ports sector is not the only area of American business that has seen growing interest from the Middle East. Other UAE firms have also taken stakes in other US quoted companies:
- $2 bn interest in TimeWarner
- $1 bn stake in DaimlerChrysler
- Buying a New York hotel for $700 million
This shifting of ownership across regions of the world has not only been seen in the US. At the time of writing (March 2006), several UK firms have also been targeted:
- BOC, who make and supply industrial gases, have received an £8.2 bn bid from German firm Linde
- BAA, who own Gatwick and Heathrow, as well as other UK airports, is the target of a bid from Spanish firm Ferrovial amongst others
- The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has been bid for by the German Deutsche Börse
But the globalisation of ownership of national leading companies has not met with universal approval. Many American observers protested against the takeover of the six US ports. They have complained that while it may be acceptable for a UK firm to control strategically important ports, this is not the case with a company from the Middle East. The US Government indicated its intention to allow the takeover, but plenty of politicians didn't agree. In the end, the decision was taken out of the Americans' hands when DP World decided to transfer the US ports to other, more acceptable owners (to critics in the US).