Carnival casts off merger registrar

CARNIVAL, the world's biggest cruise operator, has dumped Computershare as its share registrar amid allegations of ineptitude in a bungled allocation during its £3.5bn merger with P&O Princess.

Sources close to Carnival said it had now given the account to Lloyds TSB Registrars, Computershare's main UK rival.

The decision follows the American firm's launch of a multi-million pound 'gross negligence' claim against Computershare over the 'loss' of shares in its merger with Britain's P&O Princess, first revealed in the Evening Standard.

New York and L

ondon-listed Carnival blames Computershare for failing to exchange more than 53m P&O shares for Carnival stock as part of the April merger.

In addition to losing future business from Carnival, Computershare faces a bill of at least $15m (£8.5m) if it loses the negligence claim.

Computershare's promise when it became Carnival's UK receiving agent for the P&O merger was that it was 'unique in its ability to provide comprehensive record keeping services that are unmatched in the industry'.

Australia-listed Computershare manages 16m shareholder accounts in Britain and 68m worldwide. It denies liability for Carnival's loss and is defending the legal action.