Could Viking purchase another cruise line?

[Cienfuegos]

Thanks for that info.  It will be interesting to see how this product rolls out.

[Peregrina651]

22 hours ago, Redtravel said:

No doubt that Viking is building a ship for the Mississippi. US regulations require US registration if a ship only sails in American waters. Viking is not rented any ships or boats solely in the US.  The rented ships are mainly in Russia, China, Egypt, and Vietnam.  By now Viking may have bought some of these ships outright. They were not built to Viking specs. While most are nice, they are not as nice as a ship specifically built for Viking.  Viking owns a huge fleet.  

 

In Russia, China and Ukraine, foreign companies may not operate their own vessels on the inland waterways and thus Viking leases riverboats in these countries.  The owner of the boat operates the vessel while Viking runs the hotel operation on board.

 

Cruisemapper is a good source of information as to who owns which ships and who operates them and also what other names the vessel has sailed under.

 

[azdrydock]

An interesting acquisition would be Paul Gaugin/Ponant. Lot's of signs of problems and customer unrest (visit the Paul Gaugin board on CC).  same or slightly higher demographics, Viking has no or little South Pacific presence, euro and med routes are more complementary then competitive, expedition ships and new cruise ships are in scope with Vikings. More important neither company is public and that minimizes regulatory issues. Deal could be done over dinner with some fine wine.

 

  

Edited April 30, 2020 by azdrydock
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[Captain_Morgan]

There seems to be this notion that Viking are overflowing with cash to swan around and scoop up another operating line, when the reality seems to be they're leveraged to the hilt and are at the point of considering 'junk' bonds....how is that disconnect not obvious?

I get desire to see Viking thrive and expand into new markets, but in the current global climate under Coronavirus and all of the ripples being sent through the industry I think there's a greater likelihood that companies (Viking included) are more likely to recede as opposed to expand.