The Bond That Buys

[mz-s]

25 minutes ago, crewsweeper said:

I can see smaller subsidiary lines being sold  to other cruise lines who are looking to expand markets, Asia and South Pacific or Africa.  I can't see major lines with mega ships being bought by other mega lines with mega ships that compete same major markets, Caribbean, Med, Baltics.

 

In a post-pandemic world it remains to be seen if those markets are still interested in cruising.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

20 hours ago, staceyglow said:

If CCL bought RCCL, they would have a near monopoly on value-priced cruises.

 

And without competition,  they wouldn't be value-priced for much longer.

They would have a monopoly on “C”s 😋

[MagnoliaBlossom]

I remember when Princess was for sail and everyone thought it was a done deal with RCL (I think) and Shazam! It was CCL.  Ya just never know.

[Snowflake luvr]

On 8/6/2022 at 7:54 PM, Old Fart Cruisers said:

Carnival can't even afford to buy enough bacon to serve every day🥓.  How could they afford to buy Royal Caribbean, who has never run out of it.🥴 

Truer words have never been spoken 

All Hail The King of Cutbacks.. last time i saled Carnival.there was so much soy filler in the food i couldn't eat it. We ate at the deli  the whole 5 days.

[cmichael1221]

12 minutes ago, Snowflake luvr said:

Truer words have never been spoken 

All Hail The King of Cutbacks.. last time i saled Carnival.there was so much soy filler in the food i couldn't eat it. We ate at the deli  the whole 5 days.

You can't spell or form a sentence and you're giving business advice?

 

[LMaxwell]

It almost happened in 1988. 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/15277-carnival-reaches-royal-caribbean-purchase-agreement.html

 

"Carnival Cruise Lines confirmed at presstime that the "Fun Ship" cruise line had reach an agreement to purchase a 70 percent interest in the parent companies of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and Admiral Cruises for $550 million in cash.

 

The seven-ship cruise line, which recently announced that it had entered into an agreement to purchase about 36 percent of the companies that owned RCCL and Admiral, said that the only restriction awaiting full completion of the expanded deal was a 30-day waiting period under the U.S. Hart-Scott-Rodin law.

 

A spokesman for the "Fun Ships" cruise line confirmed that Carnival will now acquire the total cruise interests of Gotaas-Larsen for about $275 million, J.M. Skaugen for some $232 million and the interests of Johnson Line AB and Effoa/Steamship Co.

 

While I.M. Skaugen Supervising Director Kato A. Holmsen said that "we were forced to sell" when he confirmed the agreement, Holmsen refused to elaborate and officials at Arders Wilhelmsen were meeting in closed door sessions last week and refused to comment on the purchase at presstime.

Wilhelmsen is a Norwegian-based shipping conglomerate that will continue to own the remaining 30 percent of the Royal Admiral Cruises holding company once the Carnival acquisition is finalized in 30 days.

 

A Carnival spokesman said that Carnival would continue to operate Carnival, RCCL and Admiral as separate cruise lines and had no intention of merging their operations in the future.

 

The Carnival spokesman said that the agreement between I.M. Skaugen and Wilhelmsen earlier this year to merge and to form a joint holding company was, indeed, subject to Norwegian government regulations. He noted that Norwegian government approval was required in that transaction because all companies are Norwegian-based and said he expected final approval by the end of the year.

 

President Mickey Arison said that Carnival expects to continue to operate all five ships that are now operated by RCCL to continue to be registered under the Norwegian International Registry. Arison added that the latest Carnival expansion would have no effect on Carnival's plans to build three 45,000-ton sister ships in the 700-passenger range in the luxury end of the North American cruise market.

Dr. Stanley Buchin, president of the Boston­ based Temple Barker & Sloane market research firm said that acquisition of the controlling== interest in both RCCL and Admiral should give Carnival a profitable means to create "natural upgrades." RCCL currently operates a total of five-ships in the 7-, 8- and 10-day Caribbean market and Admiral operates two ships in the 3- and 4-day markets and one 7-day vessel.

 

Buchin explained that younger cruise passengers could "graduate" from Admiral's 3- and 4-day sailings to the Bahamas and northern Mexico, to Carnival's 7-day swinging "Fun Ships," to RCCL's more subdued 7-, 8- and 10-day sailings. He said that it "would seem to be a more natural progression from Admiral to Carnival to RCCL than from Norwegian Cruise Lines to Royal Viking Line."

 

"Admiral could become a good 'feeder' line to Carnival because Admiral could be positioned to attract younger passengers who could gradually move up to Carnival ships when they become 35 or 40," Buchin said. "Then there wouldn't seem to be that much of a jump from the Carnival 'Fun Ships' to the more subdued RCCL ships when those passengers turn 50 or 55."

 

Buchin also said that the new 15-ship cruise position to capitalize on the inherent economies of scale that apply to the industry because of relatively fixed operating costs. He explained that Carnival industry conglomerate should be in a powerful bargaining position to negotiate volume rates for everything from airlift, to food, to fuel to water and linens.

 

Buchin said that Carnival's continuing expansion plans "are just further Proof" that the cruise industry is rapidly moving in the direction where five or six large operators will dominate the industry. He said that the continuing consolidations and mergers would also create "several niches" for those cruise lines with "something unique like adventure, exotic or very luxurious products."

[LMaxwell]

On 8/6/2022 at 9:42 PM, coaster said:

 MSC could be a another takeover target, but they are privately owned. Not sure if that makes it more complicated or not. 

Not a shot.  MSC is family owned. It is a small part of their operations but a major source of pride. They have no need or desire to sell or merge. 

[LMaxwell]

And here is why that buyout ultimately failed to come to fruition.  Carnival went on to purchase the much smaller Holland America fleet, at an even higher price.  

 

https://magazines.marinelink.com/Magazines/MaritimeReporter/198811/content/anders-wilhelmsen-admiral-201043

 

"

In a surprise announcement, a minority stockholder of Royal Admiral Cruises, Arne Wilhelmsen, has recently divulged that his company, the Anders Wilhelmsen & Co.

group, has exercised its right of first refusal to purchase the balance of Royal Admiral. Royal Admiral is the holding company for both Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and Admiral Cruises.

 

In addition, Mr. Wilhelmsen chairman of Anders Wilhelmsen & Co. A/S of Oslo, Norway, also announced that they are negotiating the formation of a joint venture with an entity related to the Pritzker family, the owners of the Hyatt and Hyatt International chain of 144 hotels.

 

This now puts an end to months of speculation as to future ownership of the world's largest cruise line, including a recent $561-million offer from Carnival Cruise Line, Inc.

for 70 percent of the stock. Mr. Wilhelmsen had a deadline of October 10 to exercise his option and in the past months (since Carnival's offer) has arranged for fiancing for the purchase through Christiania Bank og Kreditkasse of Norway and Bank of Nova Scotia.

 

Currently the Royal Admiral fleet includes the new Sovereign of the Seas, the world's largest cruise ship, which has been named "Ship of the Year" and "World's Best" by the travel industry and was chosen as one of MARITIME REPORTER'S "Outstanding Oceangoing Ships of 1987." A new 1,600-passenger vessel is under construction in France and negotiations are under way for one or possibly two more sister ships to the luxurious 2,300-passenger Sovereign of the Seas.

"

[BlerkOne]

13 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

Not a shot.  MSC is family owned. It is a small part of their operations but a major source of pride. They have no need or desire to sell or merge. 

MSC has proven they have the ability to run a North America cruise line into the ground. But you are correct - they won't buy another cruise line.

[LMaxwell]

1 minute ago, BlerkOne said:

MSC has proven they have the ability to run a North America cruise line into the ground. But you are correct - they won't buy another cruise line.

No, I am saying MSC would not allow themselves to be bought out.  They'll keep pumping money into it.  

 

Not sure I'd say they have run it into the ground; they spent quite a bit of money on their Bahamas stop and pretty much have 3 large/new ships running around the US out of Florida all the time.  Not big time in the U.S. but pretty significant for the last 7 or 8 years. 

[BlerkOne]

3 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

No, I am saying MSC would not allow themselves to be bought out.  They'll keep pumping money into it.  

 

Not sure I'd say they have run it into the ground; they spent quite a bit of money on their Bahamas stop and pretty much have 3 large/new ships running around the US out of Florida all the time.  Not big time in the U.S. but pretty significant for the last 7 or 8 years. 

It isn't the first time MSC tried to crack the US market. MSC is willing to lose money, but there are limits.

[kdr69]

On 8/6/2022 at 7:57 PM, coaster said:

l look for some of their ships being sold at fire sale prices soon to other lines.

Thought they only had 2??

[tidecat]

2 hours ago, kdr69 said:

Thought they only had 2??

Virgin has two completed and two due in 2023. I believe Resilient Lady was supposed to start sailing in 2022, but has been pushed back to May 2023.