NCL Recommends Joint Bid To Shareholders

NCL Holding abandoned hope of any new takeover bids and recommended that shareholders accept an offer by Malaysia's Star Cruises and U.S. Carnival Corp. Star and Carnival, which gave up their rivalry to join forces to make a 35 crowns per share offer valuing NCL stock at about $1.1 billion, said they had a controlling stake of 53.8 percent after buying 4.3 percent on Thursday. "The board recommends sale," the NCL board said in a brief statement to the Oslo bourse, marking the end of an often bitter struggle to encourage a further round of bids. Shares in NCL, the world's fourth largest cruise group, closed at 35 crowns on the Oslo bourse, down 0.2 from Wednesday, as the last shred of hope for a new takeover battle vanished.