NCL Purchases Prestige Cruises for $3bn

Norwegian Cruise Lines has completed the acquisition of Prestige Cruises International in a deal worth $3.02bn. The deal was originally announced in September and has been completed this week using existing cash and debt facilities, and the issurance or just over 20.3 millions shardes of NCL’s common stock.

Prestige Cruises International comprises of the Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands, accounting for eight ships and roughly 6,500 berths.

Norwegian Cruise Line CEO, Kevin Sheehan, enthused: “While for years we have completed successfully with our one brand in an increasingly consolidated industry, our acquisition of Prestige creates a new cruise operator with a range of complementary offerings as diversified as any in the industry.

“We now shift our focus from planning for the successful integration of these organisations to the implementation phase, with an organisational structure that allows for the realisation of significant synergies while maintaining the integrity of the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands that have made each a success in their respective segment.”

The acquisition of Prestige Cruises International makes NCL the third largest cruise ship operator in the world. The cruise line’s total fleet will now span a wide range of market segments from contemporary to upper-premium to luxury.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises operates three all-suite ships, with another ship set to debut in summer 2016. Oceania Cruises currently operates five recently refurbished midsize ships. The newly-united brands plan to launh a total of five new ships by 2019.

Images sourced via Norwegian Cruise Lines and Flickr Creative Commons. Credits: Tom Mascardo