This has been brewing for weeks, but it's finally official: Apollo Management has acquired
Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Here's the press release that was issued this morning:
Apollo Management L.P. Acquires Regent Seven Seas
Minneapolis-based Carlson and Apollo Management L.P. (Apollo) today announced that Apollo has agreed to acquire Carlson's Regent Seven Seas Cruises operations. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2008, subject to normal conditions for a transaction of this type, including regulatory approval. The cruise operations will continue as a key part of the global Regent brand.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises will be placed under the ownership of Prestige Cruise Holdings, Inc. (PCH), a corporation controlled by Apollo which will manage certain cruise portfolio assets of Apollo. NCL Corporation will remain a separate holding outside of PCH.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises will remain a wholly independent brand under the guidance of Mark Conroy, president of Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and will continue to operate from its Fort Lauderdale, Florida headquarters, and Oceania Cruises will remain in its Miami headquarters, headed by Bob Binder, president of Oceania Cruises. Both Binder and Conroy will report directly to Frank Del Rio, chairman and CEO of Prestige Cruise Holdings.
The transaction is part of a unified strategy undertaken by Apollo and Carlson to expand their respective core cruise and hotel operations, and become the world's preeminent operators of luxury hotels, resorts and cruises. Carlson will retain ownership of the master Regent brand, along with the worldwide operations of Regent Hotels & Resorts.
"Through this proposed investment, Apollo has demonstrated its deep commitment to the Regent brand and the continuing growth of the Regent cruise line fleet," said Carlson Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Marilyn Carlson Nelson. "As owners of the Regent brand, we remain committed to expanding its scope and success both on land and at sea. We are confident the Regent cruise brand will continue to develop along with and lead the industry segment, which has expanded dramatically since 1992, when we launched our first ship. The potential for continued expansion of the luxury Regent hotel brand, and our entire hotel portfolio, is enormous."
Apollo's acquisition of Regent Seven Seas Cruises strengthens its position in the cruise industry with the addition of an award-winning luxury cruise brand to its cruise portfolio. Regent Seven Seas Cruises will continue to focus on the luxury segment of the marketplace by offering a six-star, all-inclusive experience, and Oceania Cruises will continue to lead the Upper Premium segment.
"Everyone at Regent Seven Seas Cruises is delighted with the formation of this new family of companies. With the tremendous financial resources of Apollo available to us, Regent Seven Seas Cruises will continue to strengthen our position as the leading luxury cruise brand. Our valued guests and travel agent partners will experience a seamless transition as we continue to deliver world-class cruise vacation experiences. We look forward to continued success and the use of the new financial resources available to accelerate our future growth," stated Mark Conroy, president of Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
"Regent Seven Seas is the largest, most successful luxury cruise brand, and we look forward to the growth opportunities this addition offers consumers, travel agents and the team members at both Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises," stated Steve Martinez, a partner with Apollo.
Six times chosen as the world's top-rated cruise line by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure magazine, Regent Seven Seas Cruises offers voyages to all corners of the globe aboard its fleet of modern, six-star rated, luxury vessels. In addition to the all-suite, all-balcony, 700-guest Seven Seas Voyager and all-suite, all-balcony, 700-guest Seven Seas Mariner, the fleet also includes the 490-guest Seven Seas Navigator, with 90 percent balcony suites, and the 330-guest Paul Gauguin, a ship dedicated to sailing the South Pacific.
"Regent Seven Seas Cruises offers an exceptional product, and its superb shipboard and shoreside teams have built an enviable reputation as the foremost luxury cruise brand. The brand awareness and market presence of Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises will offer our discerning travelers and travel agents worldwide the most vibrant and diverse range of cruise experiences, serving the broadest spectrum of spectacular destinations," stated Frank Del Rio, chairman and CEO of Prestige Cruise Holdings.
Lehman Brothers Inc. served as financial advisor to Prestige Cruise Holdings on the transaction, and Goldman, Sachs & Co. served as financial advisor to Carlson.
Carlson announced today that it has named Bjorn Gullaksen as president, Regent Luxury Group. Gullaksen has most recently served as executive vice president for Carlson Hotels Worldwide Managed Hotels & Resorts in the Americas. He will continue to oversee the managed hotel and resort operations in his new role. A hospitality industry veteran with more than 30 years of experience, he previously has served as the company's executive vice president of Full Service Hotels, including Radisson Hotels & Resorts and Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts.
Under Gullaksen, a brand council, with leadership from the cruise company and Carlson Hotels Worldwide, will oversee the luxury standards of the Regent brand in all of its applications globally.
Jay Witzel, president and CEO of Carlson Hotels Worldwide and CEO of Regent, said Regent Hotels & Resorts will continue to grow globally as a leading luxury brand in the hotel industry. Following the completion of the cruise line transaction, Regent Hotels & Resorts will be operated as part of Carlson Hotels Worldwide, one of the world's top 10 hotel companies. The current global portfolio includes Regent properties in Beijing; Shanghai; Singapore; Taipei; Berlin; Zagreb, Croatia; and Turks and Caicos. The company's North American expansion plans also include The Regent Bal Harbour, Florida, scheduled to open in early 2008 and The Regent Boston at Battery Wharf, also scheduled to open in 2008. Future global developments include properties in Bordeaux, France; Bangkok, Thailand; The Republic of Maldives; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Papagayo, Costa Rica; and Dubrovnik, Croatia.
ABOUT APOLLO MANAGEMENT L.P.:Founded in 1990, Apollo is a leading private equity and capital markets investor with more than 17 years of experience investing across the capital structure of leveraged companies. The firm employs over 140 professionals and has offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Singapore, Frankfurt and Paris. Since its inception, Apollo has managed more than $28 billion of capital across a wide variety of industries both domestically and internationally. The firm's most recent private equity fund and its co-investment affiliate have capital commitments of approximately $11.6 billion. Investments in the leisure and hospitality industries have included Harrah's Entertainment (pending), AMC Entertainment, Sirius Satellite Radio, Wyndham International, and Vail Resorts. Apollo is already active in the cruise industry, having invested in the upper premium Oceania Cruises brand earlier this year, and is scheduled to shortly close on a committed investment in NCL Corporation Ltd ("NCL"), parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line and NCL America . Since investing in Oceana, Apollo has supported the ordering of two new ships worth approximately $1 billion.
ABOUT CARLSON:Carlson is a global leader in the hotel, restaurant, business and leisure travel, and marketing industries.
The Carlson family of brands and services include: Regent Hotels & Resorts(R), Radisson Hotels & Resorts(R), Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Park Inn(R) hotels, Regent Seven Seas Cruises(R), T.G.I. Friday's(R) and Pick Up Stix(R) restaurants, Carlson Wagonlit Travel(R), Cruise Holidays(SM), All Aboard Travel, Cruise Specialists, Fly4Less.com, Cruise Deals.com, Dazzle Travel, Results! Travel(R), Carlson Destination Marketing Services, Carlson Leisure Travel Services, SeaMaster Cruises(R), SinglesCruise.com, Partners In Travel, Luxury Travel Network, Carlson Marketing, Peppers & Rogers Group(R), and Gold Points Reward Network(R).
Based in Minneapolis, Carlson's brands and services employ about 190,000 people in 150 countries and territories. Carlson's 2006 systemwide sales, including franchised operations, totaled $37.1 billion.
http://www.carlson.com/.
ABOUT REGENT SEVEN SEAS CRUISES:Regent Seven Seas Cruises(SM) (RSSC) operates a fleet of medium-sized luxury cruise ships that visit over 300 ports on all seven continents, including Antarctica. RSSC is consistently rated among the world's top three cruise lines by readers of luxury travel magazines. Travel professionals worldwide voted RSSC the "World's Best Luxury Cruise Line" for the third consecutive year as part of the 2006 Travel Weekly Awards and readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine voted RSSC "World's Best Small-Ship Cruise Line" in 2007. For further information, contact Regent Seven Seas Cruises, 1000 Corporate Drive, Suite 500, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 33334. For brochures, call toll-free (866) 284-4079; for reservation information call toll-free (800) 285-1835; or visit:
http://www.rssc.com/.
ABOUT
OCEANIA CRUISES:
Oceania Cruises(R) is the world's only upper-premium cruise line and offers a unique combination of the finest cuisine at sea, luxurious accommodations, exceptional personalized service and extraordinary value. As the leader in destination cruising, Oceania Cruises sails to more than 180 ports in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, South America, and the Caribbean. Featuring three intimate and elegant mid-sized ships, Regatta, Insignia and Nautica, the line will introduce two new mid-size Oceania Class ships to its award-winning fleet in 2010 and 2011. For additional information, to make a reservation, or to order a brochure, please contact your Travel Agent or Oceania Cruises at 800-531-5658. Visit us at
http://www.oceaniacruises.com/.
Here's some interesting news... Author/lecturer Terry Breen—long a favorite guest speaker on Regent Seven Seas cruise ships—will spend the 2011 Alaska season aboard Oceania Cruises' 684-passenger Regatta.
Porthole Cruise Magazine has been running its annual Readers' Choice Awards for the past 12 years and the 2010 results are now in.
MARCH 2, 2011
MAY 9, 2011
A friend of mine called from Denver today to tell me that it was snowing. Yes! Snowing on September 21st! She considers this cold white stuff an omen for a long, bad winter and she wanted my advice on which Caribbean cruise to book. SeaDream Yacht Club came to mind immediately.
If you haven't visited Oceania Cruises's website lately, it's worth the click of a mouse to go see it now. The cruise line has revamped its site and it's vastly improved!
The 2010 European season from Oceania Cruises went on sale yesterday. Of special note is the fact that the cruise fare will now include unlimited bottled water and soft drinks. (You'll still need to sign a chit for any alcoholic beverages you order.) This semi-inclusive setup begins with the April 4, 2010 Pearls of the Riviera cruise aboard the Regatta. (Cruises scheduled before this date do not include the free soda and water.)
Here's a link you've got to bookmark! KrooozCam.com. It's a very cool, handy site if you feel like "stalking" some of your favorite cruise ships or ports.
Some of you have probably noticed that I've added a poll feature to the Luxury Cruise Bible blog. You'll find this week's question—What type of cruise fare specials do you prefer?—at the upper right side of the blog's homepage.
Frank Del Rio, chairman & CEO of Prestige Cruise Holdings (left) and Bob Binder, president of Oceania Cruises. (Photo courtesy of Oceania Cruises.)
