Carnival Corporation & plc. (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) announced today that members of the Arison family and certain related entities plan to sell up to 8.5 million shares of Carnival Corporation shares in market sales. The shares to be sold represent up to approximately 1% of the total combined voting rights of Carnival Corporation.
Shares in Carnival Corporation closed at $30.47, so that the value of the maximum number of shares to be sold is $259 million.
Of the shares planned for sale, up to 5 million shares are held either directly or indirectly by Micky Arison, the company's chairman and CEO. Micky Arison is the brother of Shari Arison, the controlling shareholder in Bank Hapoalim.
If all the shares covered by the sales plan are sold, the Arison family and related entities will remain beneficial owners of approximately 220 million shares, constituting approximately 28% of the total combined voting rights of Carnival Corporation & plc.
Carnival Corporation said that the sellers had advised it that they were selling for tax planning, estate planning and diversification purposes.
Carnival Corporation is the largest cruise vacation group in the world, operating 92 ships under various brands.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 13, 2009
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