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Carnival, Star team for NCL
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February 2, 2000: 6:50 a.m. ET
U.S. cruise firm in bid with Singapore rival for Norwegian Cruise Line
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Carnival Corp. teamed up Wednesday with Malaysia's Star Cruises to launch a $1.1 billion joint bid for Norway's NCL Holdings, ending two months of sparring for the world's fourth-largest cruise company.
Carnival and Star plan to set up a joint venture to take control of the Oslo-based company in which Star would hold 60 percent and Carnival 40 percent.
Carnival, the world's largest cruise firm, launched a hostile bid for NCL on Dec. 1 prompting the Norwegian firm to seek Star's support as a white knight. The Singapore company said Dec. 17 that it had already secured 50.2 percent of NCL's stock on the open market.
Carnival last week raised its offer, saying the NCL board had agreed to recommend the U.S. company's bid of 40 Norwegian crowns per share. Carnival has now withdrawn that offer.
NCL shareholders are due to vote on Feb. 10 on Star's offer of 35 Norwegian crowns a share, which values the company at 9.1 billion crowns ($1.1 billion).
Carnival and Star said in a statement that they are confident of securing support for their joint takeover.
NCL shareholders are due to vote Friday on a resolution from Star, which holds 47 percent of the company's stock, to dismiss the current board, which had resisted the Star offer as too low.
"If our shareholders throw in the towel and sell to Star, then we will lose the vote," NCL chairman Krisjan Siem told CNNfn.com. "It has been a difficult environment fighting a bidder with 47 percent of the company."
NCL stock, which is also listed in New York, tumbled 9 percent to 35 crowns in Oslo Wednesday having peaked last week at 40 crowns, the value of the withdrawn Carnival offer.
Carnival (CCL: Research, Estimates) shares ended unchanged at 45-1/16 Tuesday. The company also announced a joint marketing deal with Star, whose shares closed up 5 percent at a year-to-date high of S$10.30. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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