P&O MOVES CLOSER TO DEMERGER OF CRUISE UNIT

P&O MOVES CLOSER TO DEMERGER OF CRUISE UNIT    British shipping group Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. said that it will announce details of its plan to “demerge” its cruise shipping arm on Sept. 26.
   P&O will call an extraordinary meeting of shareholders to approve the plan. It expects to complete the operation by the end of October.
   Shares in the new listed company, P&O Princess Cruises plc, will be listed on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.
   Neither P&O nor P&O Princess Cruises will be raising new equity, the British group said.
   P&O said recently that it is also considering a plan to list P&O Nedlloyd, the liner shipping company in which it has a 50-percent stake, on public markets.