Titan Europe - 170p

Titan Europe has been mentioned before and now is a good time to revisit the story.The company still looks as though it may well be taken over by Titan International and an offer update was released on June 18.

The potential offer is in the form of Titan International shares and values Titan Europe at approximately 230p per share based on closing prices the previous day. This represents a significant premium to the current price, but it has to be said that the shares do look reasonable value even if the anticipated takeover does not materialise.

On a more downbeat note, it was Titan Europe's annual general meeting on last Friday and a rather negative trading update was delivered by Chief Executive Mike Akers.

The most worrying news was that volatility in the steel market has been having an impact on profitability. The strong Euro has also been unwelcome, reducing competitiveness versus Far Eastern suppliers. In spite of this, real sales volumes before movements in exchange rates are expected to be better than last year. The wheels division has traded ahead of expectations but the undercarriage division has lagged.

Unsurprisingly, trading conditions in the agricultural market have been very favourable and demand for multi-piece wheels used in mining and mobile crane applications has also been strong. The undercarriage business has been hit by the state of the European construction market.

Overall, Titan Europe remains a solid business and although the company is facing some challenges at the moment, it should perform well over the medium to long term. Whether the company remains independent over this time frame remains to be seen, but those who buy in now get two bites of the cherry.

If the takeover happens then there will be a decent return in a short space of time. If this fails to materialise then shareholders will benefit fully from the company's anticipated growth going forward.

On this basis, the shares do look an attractive option in what is a very tricky market at the moment. Obviously there may be some short term weakness if takeover talks collapse, with the market price suggesting that this is a possibility.

Anyone who has made money from the stock market of late is likely to have invested in shares relating to oil or commodities and certainly not in the banks or property, both of which continue to languish.

WARNING: Opinions expressed are the writers' judgments at the time of writing. The information does not constitute a personal recommendation and readers should seek their own professional advice as to the suitability of the investments.