P&O; Princess Rejects Another Carnival Bid
P&O; Princess Cruises, the third-largest cruise operator, rejected a second increased hostile bid by No.1 cruise line Carnival Corp. as inadequate and reiterated its plan to buy Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises.
The price of Carnival’s latest proposal is “too low,” P&O; Princess Chief Executive Peter Ratcliffe said.
London-based P&O; Princess has rejected three Carnival bids, citing concern about regulatory approval, and is pursuing a $7.4-billion plan to buy No.2 operator Royal Caribbean.
P&O; Princess fell 40 cents to $22.85 on the NYSE. Royal Caribbean fell 65 cents to $17.53, and Carnival fell 82 cents to $26.06--also on the NYSE.
Carnival, based in Miami, on Wednesday raised its all-stock bid, valuing P&O; Princess at $5.1 billion, plus the assumption of P&O; Princess debt of $1.4 billion.
P&O; Princess is scheduled to hold a meeting Feb. 14 to ask shareholders to approve its combination with Royal Caribbean. Carnival reiterated its call for investors to vote to adjourn the meeting until U.S. and British regulators review both proposals.
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