Princess investors vote for delay

12 April 2012

SHAREHOLDERS in P&O Princess have voted to adjourn their meeting on the agreed £3.8bn merger with Royal Caribbean to enable them to consider a possible rival offer from the world's biggest cruise company, Carnival. The decision could jeopardise the original Princess-Royal merger plan.

Vote counting finished at 5am today following yesterday's meeting of shareholders with holders of 253m shares in favour of adjourning the meeting and 151.8m against. The vote is a victory for Carnival chairman Micky Arison, who had urged big City investors to seek a delay until both bids have been considered by international competition authorities.

All sides were confused by the lengthy delay in the voting process. There were believed to be computer problems in handling the unexpectedly large number of votes cast.

Earlier, in a highly unusual move, Carnival boss Micky Arison was permitted to approach the podium and tell shareholders why his offer for P&O was superior. Previously, P&O chairman Lord Sterling had rebuked one investor - retired sea captain David Hawker - for making allegations about Carnival's business practices.

Arison, saying he wanted to correct 'misconceptions' about his company, said his wife and children both had British passports and he had 'resurrected' the Cunard shipping line to its former glories. 'We are brand builders, not destroyers,' he said.

Sterling went into the meeting hoping for strong backing from shareholders for the board's preference for Royal. 'I have spent 20 years building this company. The board decision is the right one,' he said.

Several investors voiced concerns that P&O ships would not be available in a national crisis such as the Falklands war if it lost its independence. Sterling said his ships would 'always be ready to serve'.

Pyjamas and toothbrushes

IT is doubtful if any of the 700 or so shareholders who turned up for the crucial meeting bothered to bring their toothbrushes or pyjamas. But they need not have worried.

Lord Sterling offered to find them toothbrushes, nightwear and hotel rooms as the day wore on and it became clear that the outcome of the vote would drag on well into the evening.

'We are into the hospitality business, so we know how to handle situations like this,' said chief executive Peter Ratcliffe. Dinner was also being made available at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, whose kitchens had been supplying endless quantities of sandwiches and drinks throughout the day.

Some shareholders, perhaps not surprisingly, were veterans of cruising on P&O liners and seemed content to pass the hours away. 'Know a decent pub nearby?' one asked.

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