NCL parent optimistic of $2bn boost following $400m investment

The investment comes in the form of a private placement of exchangeable senior notes due in 2026. The private equity firm, L Catterton, will receive a board seat and a board observer.

Frank Del Rio, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings – parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises – said: "We are pleased to execute this agreement with L Catterton, the largest and most global consumer-focused private equity firm in the world.

"L Catterton is the ideal partner for our company as they recognise the remarkable resilience the cruise industry has demonstrated over the past 50 years, appreciate the long-term global demand for cruise vacations, and value our company’s long track record of growth, execution and success.

"We look forward to working with their highly experienced team and broad collection of portfolio companies to identify and capture additional value across a range of strategic and operational levers."

It comes after NCLH also issued a statement to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, that said a number of factors, "in particular the suspension of cruise voyages and decline in advanced bookings" – due to the coronavirus crisis – as well as debt maturities and other obligations over the next year, on top of the fact its management’s plan to obtain additional financing has not yet been completed, "have raised substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern".

An NCLH spokesperson said of the submission on 5 May: "Today we launched a series of capital markets transactions, led by Goldman Sachs, which are expected to raise approximately $2 billion.

"These transactions are expected to consist of 1) $350 million public offering of common equity, 2) $650 million exchangeable senior notes offering, 3) $600 million senior secured notes offering and 4) $400 million private placement from global consumer-focused private equity firm L Catterton.

"Contingent on completion of the transactions, we expect to have approximately $3 billion of liquidity.

"This strengthens our financial position and ensures that we are positioned to withstand well over 12 months of voyage suspensions in a potential downside scenario.

"While this is not our expectation, we have taken a proactive approach to protect our future given the significant uncertainty and unknown duration of the COVID-19 global pandemic."