LONDON, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- P&O Princess Cruises PLC of London on Sunday rejected a tentative bid by Carnival Corp. to merge with the world's largest cruise ship operator.
In a statement, Princess said its board rejected Carnival's $4.5 billion offer because "Royal Caribbean (Ltd.) remains the most attractive alternative" for its shareholders.
Princess also said a merger with Carnival would be "subject to greater regulatory risk in the United States and the European Union."
Peter Ratcliffe, the company's chief executive officer, said the deal with Carnival falls short on two points: "value to our shareholders and deliverability."
"We made it clear on announcing the Royal Caribbean combination that we were creating a truly formidable company that would go from strength to strength," said Lord Sterling of Plaistow, Princess' chairman. "Our response to Carnival simply recognizes that their proposition will not deliver the same value for our shareholders."
Princess and Royal Caribbean announced their plans to merge in November. The new company, tentatively called RCP Cruise Lines, would be the world's largest with 75,000 berths on 41 ships.
