Carnival leads Cunard bid

Carnival Corp says it is the majority participant, with a group of Norwegian investors led by Christiania Markets, in an agreement to acquire Cunard Line for US$500 million from Kvaerner, a Norwegian-based shipbuilding, engineering and construction company whose shares are traded on the Oslo and London stock exchanges.

Cunard Line operates five cruise ships: Queen Elizabeth 2, Royal Viking Sun, Vistafjord and the Sea Goddess I and II.

Under the terms of the proposed acquisition, Carnival would be the majority shareholder in the investment group. Carnival has also reached an agreement with Kvaerner Masa-Yards to develop a design for a new class of ships for Cunard.