Star closes NCL financing
MIAMI 03 January – Star Cruises has infused $200M in new equity into subsidiary Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) and secured a $610M credit facility for its North American brand. According to documents filed with US and Asian regulators, the credit facility refinances two existing loans secured by the Norwegian Dawn and Norwegian Sun and is available in two tranches of $510M and $100M. The new credit facility was underwritten by DnB, Citibank, Commerzbank, KfW, Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale and Nordea Bank Norge. The new loan contains a specific obligation that the Lim family maintains 51% control of Star (it currently controls over 87%), mandating default in the event of a sale of a majority stake in the company. Separately, Star issued a prospectus last October stating that external financing had also been arranged for €1.33Bn ($1.8Bn) in payments for NCL’s first two ‘F3’ newbuildings to be delivered in 2009 and 2010 from Aker Yards France. That financing – through BNP Paribas, Caylon, HSBC France and Societe Generale – included a similar obligation mandating that the Lim family must maintain control over NCL.
Etiquetas: cruise market, international maritime affairs