John

Ambassadors International completed its $100m acquisition of Windstar Cruises from Holland America Line. The terms were $19m in cash, $21m of assumed debt and $60m of mortgage financing provided by HAL’s parent, Carnival Corp. & plc.

Ambassadors last week announced plans to sell $85m of 3.75% convertible senior notes due 2027 in a private offering and said it would use the proceeds to retire the $60m in seller financing.

The acquisition adds 608 berths on three vessels, expanding the Ambassadors fleet to 10 ships with 2,200 berths. It also pushes the company’s cruise holdings into the non-US-flag realm.

Wind Surf, Wind Star and Wind Spirit will operate under Ambassadors International Cruise Group, led by president David Giersdorf. Windstar is a brand he knows well; as a senior executive at Holland America, he oversaw the sail-cruise line.

(Seatrade)

__________________
John

Past cruises:
Apr 03 Norwegian Sun - W Caribbean
May 04 Norwegian Dream - Mediterranean
Nov 05 Radiance of the Seas - E Caribbean
Nov 05 Radiance of the Seas - W Caribbean
Oct 06 P&O Arcadia - Spirit of the Caribbean
May 07 Fred Olsen Braemar - Dutch Weekend
Oct 07 Norwegian Gem - Shakedown
Oct 07 Vision of the Seas - Mexican Riviera
Nov 07 Monarch of the Seas - Baja Cruise
July 08 Queen Elizabeth 2 -Holland & Belgium
Nov 08 P&O Artemis - Panama Canal

Seranade of the Seas - Alaska Cruise Cruising in: 141 day(s), 10 hour(s), 44 minute(s)