Genting Hong Kong to acquire Crystal Cruises for US$550m
Purchase from NYK will allow Malaysian group to expand its foothold in the cruise market
Genting Hong Kong has agreed to acquire Crystal Cruises for US$550 million from Japan's Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) in a deal that will see the buyer expand its foothold in the high-end cruise market.
Genting, which is part of the Malaysian travel and resorts conglomerate Genting Group, said the deal presented an "excellent opportunity" to take advantage of growing demand in the luxury cruise market.
Scheduled to be completed in the second quarter, the deal will be financed with existing cash and bank loans.
"Crystal Cruises offers the epitome of luxury cruising and the service standard that all other cruise lines aspire to," Genting Hong Kong chairman, chief executive and acting president Lim Kok Thay said.
"After 25 successful years with NYK, we are excited to have Genting Hong Kong as the new owner of Crystal Cruises," said Edie Rodriguez, Crystal Cruises' president and chief operating officer.
Crystal Cruises offers the epitome of luxury cruising and the service standard that all other cruise lines aspire to
NYK is one of the world's largest shipping, logistics, air cargo and transport companies.
Based in Delaware, California, Crystal Cruises operates two ships, Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity, on bareboat charters - or charters without crew or provisions - with BTMU Leasing & Finance, a subsidiary of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
The two ships together are valued at US$300 million.
Crystal Cruises generated US$8.9 million in net income last year, and a US$45 million net loss in 2013, according to a Genting filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The takeover is contingent on the completion of a planned restructuring of Crystal Cruises, which aims to convert from a corporation to a limited liability company, terminate the bareboat charters and take ownership of the two cruise ships.
Genting also plans to invest in a third ship under the Crystal Cruises brand, without specifying an amount.
The company owns and operates Star Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line and is a substantial shareholder of Filipino casino Resorts World Manila.
Star Cruises, together with Norwegian, is the world's third-largest cruise operator, after Carnival Corp and Royal Caribbean.
