Carnival increases P&O Princess offer to 3.5 bln stg from 3.2 bln

London._ Carnival Corp said it has increased its offer for P&O Princess to 500 pence per share from 456 pence, valuing the company at around 3.5 bln stg, compared with 3.2 bln previously.

The new bid, which stands in opposition to an agreed merger with Royal Caribbean Cruises ASA, offers cash of 250 pence plus 0.1380 Carnival shares for every P&O Princess share. The previous offer was 200 pence cash plus 0.1361 Carnival shares.

P&O Princess Cruises, the world’s third-largest cruise liner operator, had turned down an earlier request presented by Carnival Corp. that intends to set the record straight as to the possible cost of breaking up the proposed merger between Princess and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

In a letter to P&O Princess, Carnival said its new bid assumes that P&O Princess can end its joint venture with Royal Caribbean in 2003 "without cost or liability as you have indicated."

"We therefore continue to require clarity as to how this will be achieved in practice," Carnival said.