By Mark Kleinman, City Editor
A Singaporean sovereign wealth fund is to back Sir Richard Branson's attempt to break into the global cruise market.
Sky News has learnt that the Government Investment Corporation of Singapore (GIC) will join the buyout firm Bain Capital as a founding shareholder in Virgin Cruises.
GIC, which has amassed a portfolio of interests in large British companies, including the RAC roadside recovery service, is expected to inject a substantial sum into the venture.
At least one Middle East sovereign wealth fund and a number of family offices and high net worth individuals are also believed to be investing, according to private equity sources.
A statement about Bain Capital's involvement, revealed by Sky News last month, is expected to be made this week.
GIC is understood to have become interested through its relationship with Bain, in whose funds it is a major investor.
News of the progress of Virgin Cruises' fundraising comes just weeks after Sir Richard's plans for his space tourism venture, Virgin Galactic, were hit by the crash of a test-flight in California..
The accident did not, however, prevent the launch of two other deals involving Virgin-backed companies during the last few weeks: the listing in London of Virgin Money; and the New York flotation of Virgin America, the domestic US airline.
Sources said that Virgin Group would itself invest more than $100m (£63m) in shares in Virgin Cruises, using funds recycled from the proceeds of the two recent flotations.
Details of the launch plans for Virgin Cruises remain sketchy, although it is thought likely to be targeting a maiden voyage in 2019 and be based in Miami.
Bankers said it would raise approximately £500m in equity and a debt package worth substantially more - possibly as much as £1bn.
In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Sir Richard said the ambition of the cruises operation was "to see whether we can attract people like myself who've never been on a cruise ship".
Two vessels are in the process of being commissioned and constructed.
Sir Richard and Josh Bayliss, chief executive of Virgin Management, are understood to believe the global cruises sector possesses many of the same characteristics which have led Virgin to build a significant presence in sectors such as aviation, rail and mobile telecoms.
The cruise market is dominated by fewer than a handful of companies, such as the FTSE-100 group Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian. Between them, the three companies have a global market share of approximately 80%.
"Cruises is a classic Virgin market, dominated by two or three players and where the product needs to be refreshed," an insider told Sky News earlier this year.
The industry is forecast by Cruise Market Watch to grow from 21.5 million passengers this year to 22.2 million passengers carried worldwide in 2015.
Virgin Cruises is expected to be headquartered in the US, reflecting North America's status as the world's biggest cruise market, the source said.
Globally, the industry is forecast to generate revenue of $37.1bn (£22.2bn) this year, a 2.3% increase on 2013.
He has also frequently sold stakes in his companies to outside investors, including the sale of shares in Virgin Money, his banking operation, to an entity in Abu Dhabi and Wilbur Ross, a prominent US investor.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Singaporean Fund Backs Branson Cruise Venture
Dengan url
http://clotehancamar.blogspot.com/2014/12/singaporean-fund-backs-branson-cruise.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Singaporean Fund Backs Branson Cruise Venture
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Singaporean Fund Backs Branson Cruise Venture
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar