CRUISE giant P&O Princess left the door ajar today for Cunard owner Carnival to pull off a takeover coup.

P&O Princess is standing by its "merger of equals'' with Royal Caribbean but has given shareholders enough time to consider any new bid from Carnival.

The cruise company, with UK interests based on Southampton, said the timetable for approving its Royal Caribbean deal had been stretched in the light of Carnival's interest.

Carnival tabled a £3.2bn offer for P&O Princess on Monday in a move that would wreck the tie-up with Royal Caribbean.

P&O has rejected that latest bid and warned that it contained too many pre-conditions to enable it to go before shareholders.

However, chief executive Peter Ratcliffe said the timetable allowed for an improved and suitable offer prior to January 18 to be considered.

He explained: "The timetable we have set in place today both honours our agreement with Royal Caribbean and still gives time for Carnival to put forward a credible, deliverable and more valuable transaction.''

P&O Princess is due to hold its extraordinary general meeting to approve the Royal Caribbean deal on February 14. Shareholders could now find themselves with two proposals to consider.

Carnival, the world's largest cruise operator, which owns Southampton registered liner Queen Elizabeth 2, said on Monday it was prepared to go "hostile" in an attempt to land P&O Princess.