Star, Carnival End NCL Joint Venture

Malaysia's Star Cruises Plc and Carnival Corp. have terminated a joint venture agreement to buy Norwegian cruise group NCL Holding ASA, paving the way for Star to have full ownership. Star reportedly cancelled the deal with Carnival because it was not prepared to give more control to Carnival on NCL's future direction.

Carnival was offered a minority 40 percent stake to prevent a bidding war, Star officials said, but have since wanted more control than the Malaysian company was prepared to give. Officials added that the termination was amicable, and there were no claims or costs pending against either party. Star currently has a 95 percent stake in NCL, inclusive of an indirect 10 percent.

With the acquisition, Star will be about the third largest cruise operator in the world, alongside Britain's P&O.