Norwegian Dream: possible sale target
NORWEGIAN Cruise Line, the Miami operator that is currently undergoing a watershed transformation of sorts, appears close to consummating the sale of three of its cruiseships to smaller European brands, including the disposal of the two oldest ships in the NCL fleet.
The ships involved are understood to be the 1999-built Pride of Aloha, which is being withdrawn from NCL’s ill-starred US-flag cruise operation in Hawaii, and the 1992-built pair of Norwegian Dream and Norwegian Majesty.
Pullmantur Cruises is understood to be the purchaser involved in the Pride of Aloha transaction, at a rumoured price of $300m-$310m. The transaction was understood to be on subjects on Friday, with subjects expected to be lifted next week.
Cyprus’ Louis Group is believed to be pursuing the acquisition of the other two ships, in what would be the largest deal in the history of the East Mediterranean’s largest cruise operator. A specialist broker familiar with the deal put the price agreed for the Norwegian Dream and Norwegian Majesty en bloc at $378m.
NCL did not return calls made by Lloyd’s List on Friday.
US sources suggested that Louis had yet to line up the finances required to bankroll such an ambitious expansion, but was in hot pursuit of investors and bankers.
It is also believed that Louis’ interest in the pair, at a price seen in some quarters as “top-dollar”, caused a potential rival bid on the ships by International Shipping Partners/Clipper Cruises to die away.
Louis has previously affirmed intentions to renew its 13-vessel fleet with newbuildings or younger tonnage, while negotiating the sale of some of the older vessels.
For NCL, the putative deal comes when the company is seeking to rebound from heavy losses suffered in its US-flag operations.
The company now markets its brand as possessing the “youngest fleet on the planet”. Simultaneously, private equity group Apollo Global Management has ploughed $1bn into the company for a 50% stake and a board majority.
This investment is being seen among certain circles as a rich investor seeing the long-term upside in an “undervalued” operation. Apollo last week filed for an initial public offering of up to $417.5m in New York, with the prospectus detailing a philosophy of “contrarian” and “distress-sale” investments.
NCL’s Hawaii operation took root in 2003 through a special Congressional dispensation and started business with three ships, the Pride of Hawaii, Pride of Aloha and Pride of America. However, cost and, allegedly, competition caused the operation to haemorrhage cash, and it is now down to one ship.
NCL announced a year ago that it would withdraw the Pride of Hawaii from Hawaii, citing competition from foreign-flag ships. Last month, just days after actually removing the Pride of Hawaii, NCL disclosed plans to remove the Pride of Aloha from the islands in May.
NCL also announced significant redundancies in its Miami head office in March, as a direct result of the Hawaii debacle.
Colin Veitch, NCL chief executive, insisted to Lloyd’s List in Miami in March that the decision to pare the Hawaii business back to one ship had brought the entire operation back to viable scale, and, “for now”, the Pride of America would constitute a profitable one-ship profit centre in Hawaii.
NCL has decided not to invest in new ships through to 2010, when a pair of newbuildings in its ambitious F3 class would hit the water, Mr Veitch revealed. The Pride of Hawaii¸ renamed the Norwegian Jade, and the Pride of Aloha were to be moved to NCL’s European and international itineraries to serve as de facto fleet expansion in the meantime.
F3 is the project name for the new class under construction at Aker Yards France, the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire. Designed to propel NCL into the “mega-class” league of its bigger rivals Carnival and Royal Caribbean, the F3 class will surpass NCL’s Jewel class as its largest vessels by over 50,000 gt.
Πηγή: Lloyd's List 14-4-2008
[B]ignoramus et ignorabimus[/B]