P&O Princess wants Carnival dual listing

P&O Princess Cruises has thrown its weight behind the prospect of creating a dual-listed structure with Carnival Corporation, the US group bidding to destroy an arranged merger with Royal Caribbean, and expects to meet the Carnival board by Friday.

Micky Arison, Carnival's chairman and chief executive, welcomed the development, which came after the final regulatory hurdle for both deals was passed over the weekend.

P&O Princess, which has yet to change its recommendation that shareholders back the nil-premium merger with Royal Caribbean, said it was focusing on a dual-listed combination (DLC) with Carnival rather than its cash-and-shares offer because this would allow investors to retain their stakes. It agreed to the meeting with Carnival because it acknowledged that a deal with the world's biggest cruise ship company would be more "financially attractive" than one with Royal Caribbean.

"While our shareholders would only have 26 per cent [of the combined group], this would still be a very significant stake," Peter Ratcliffe, the chief executive of P&O Princess, said. "The great thing about a DLC is that it's their decision; they can either hold the shares or sell them as they see fit." Under the proposed DLC with Royal Caribbean, P&O Princess shareholders would hold 50.7 per cent of the enlarged group.

P&O Princess added that it would look at ways to change its agreement with Royal Caribbean so that its merger could be "approved by a simple majority vote". At present, it needs 75 per cent approval.