Carnival's attempts to use the UK Takeover Panel to derail the merger agreement between P&O Princess and Royal Caribbean Cruises are unlikely to succeed, as the merger is not subject to Panel jurisdiction.

P&O Princess, the world's third-largest cruise operator, rejected a 'pre-conditional proposal' from Carnival on Monday. Carnival has now said that it will make an offer directly to P&O Princess shareholders. It has also attempted to derail the merger agreement between P&O Princess and Royal Caribbean, the world's number two cruise operator, by claiming that a break-up fee and joint venture between the two other companies flouts Panel rules concerning frustrating action.