RCG sells Azamara brand

[Ethanol95]

8 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Not sure why the sale of Azamara would impact any changes to Silversea's rewards program.  Silversea has been with RCG for a while now and they haven't announced anything

Oh my, guess i'm a bit slow to have come across this!

[Ourusualbeach]

17 minutes ago, The Grumpus said:

They might but I would not just assume that. I read the statement from the COO and all she said was things would remain the same up until the sale of the company.  She mentioned nothing about FCC carry-over.  Clearly this equity firm is picking up a deal on the street because they have money and knows RCCL needs money.  The firm may decide to tell RCCL the FCC's is your problem, not ours. Hard to say at this point if this Firm is ready or able to run a cruise line.  My guess is they plan to turn them over quickly, or sit on the ships until the market rebounds and sell them to the highest bidder.  I'd be surprised if they end up sold for scrap, but these are trying times.

According to Cabezas, nothing is currently expected to change for Azamara’s customers.

“There is no impact on your current bookings, future cruise credits, refunds or the availability of your travel advisor. Also, our website and care center agents remain open for business, and I encourage you to start planning your next cruise with us,” she said, before adding that that the entire team will stay with Azamara, including customer care staff and crew.

[Ourusualbeach]

21 minutes ago, The Grumpus said:

They might but I would not just assume that. I read the statement from the COO and all she said was things would remain the same up until the sale of the company.  She mentioned nothing about FCC carry-over.  Clearly this equity firm is picking up a deal on the street because they have money and knows RCCL needs money.  The firm may decide to tell RCCL the FCC's is your problem, not ours. Hard to say at this point if this Firm is ready or able to run a cruise line.  My guess is they plan to turn them over quickly, or sit on the ships until the market rebounds and sell them to the highest bidder.  I'd be surprised if they end up sold for scrap, but these are trying times.

My thinking is that this sale had absolutely nothing to do with Royal selling off Azamara to raise cash and everything to do with redefining the brands that they want to keep.  This sale would have happened regardless of the pandemic. 
 

They just raised a billion $ last month,  what they got from this sale was peanuts that would be insignificant in the grand scheme of things currently. 

Edited January 20, 2021 by Ourusualbeach

[xpcdoojk]

10 hours ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

Email from Azamara COO

 

I am pleased to share that Azamara has entered into a definitive agreement to become part of Sycamore Partners, a premier private equity firm, that will play an important role in driving our brand forward and expanding our Destination Immersion® experiences for you, our valued guests. Sycamore Partners is the ideal partner for the Azamara brand. It has an extensive record of investing in and elevating brands with significant potential and, through our partnership, we will accelerate our investment in our fleet and Destination Immersion® experiences. It is important to understand Azamara’s value proposition and operations will remain consistent under the new management. We are committed to maintaining the high guest engagement and once-in-a-lifetime experiences that make Azamara a unique and beloved upmarket cruise line. With our inspired itineraries, iconic destination programming and the most engaging service at sea, combined with our unparalleled knowledge of destination experiences, we will continue to redefine what an immersive, authentic vacation can be. And, we will do so safely. Health and safety during our return to service remain top-of-mind throughout the transition period and beyond. Azamara guests should expect the same caliber of careful considerations they have always expected when traveling with Azamara. Azamara will adopt the same health and safety protocols as the Royal Caribbean Group, developed by the Healthy Sail Panel, a world-renowned group of public health experts. Similar to other brands, Azamara has paused cruising until April 30, 2021. Specifically, current plans are to resume service on May 1 with Azamara Quest’s 14-night Black Sea sailing roundtrip and Azamara Journey’s six-night Amalfi & Adriatic Wonders voyage. As the brand prepares for its return-to-service, we will keep you updated on the latest dates and offerings. This is an exciting time for the Azamara family, and I will keep you informed as this transition continues. The transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021. We remain a full member of the Royal Caribbean Group until that time. Until then, it is business as usual. If you have booked a voyage with Azamara, it remains unchanged. I encourage you to continue planning an exceptional holiday with us in 2021 and beyond. If you have questions about current travel options or any existing reservations, please call our customer care center. Thank you for being a part of this exciting time in our history. We look forward to having you on board in the future.

Carol Cabezas Chief Operating Officer, Azamara

Private equity, usually means no expertise is running a business, but trying to pimp it out to sell it to someone else.

[The Grumpus]

22 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

My thinking is that this sale had absolutely nothing to do with Royal selling off Azamara to raise cash and everything to do with redefining the brands that they want to keep.  This sale would have happened regardless of the pandemic. 
 

They just raised a billion $ last month,  what they got from this sale was peanuts that would be insignificant in the grand scheme of things currently. 

You don't need to sell one brand in order to redefine another.  If they raised a billion in cash last month, I doubt it was from revenue.

[Ourusualbeach]

2 minutes ago, The Grumpus said:

You don't need to sell one brand in order to redefine another.  If they raised a billion in cash last month, I doubt it was from revenue.

Azamara was stuck between Celebrity and Silversea and drew from both their clientele. Azamara had 3 older ships compared to Silverseas 10 much newer ships with new builds scheduled.  Silversea is where the growth is.

 

obviously the billion $ was not revenue.

[mpk]

10 hours ago, The Grumpus said:

Richard Fain is saying he sees light at the end of the tunnel.  Problem is, there may not be much left at the end of the tunnel.  I wonder how much CocoCay is worth???

 

 

A little bit of comic relief...  😀

 

Edited January 20, 2021 by mpk

[orville99]

18 hours ago, Baron Barracuda said:

Effective price may be higher if Azamara debt is also transferring.  No mention of this in press release or sec filing.

Typically, this type of transaction is "net of debt", which is how the phrase "customary conditions" is viewed by the financial community.

[FLSteve11]

17 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Azamara was stuck between Celebrity and Silversea and drew from both their clientele. Azamara had 3 older ships compared to Silverseas 10 much newer ships with new builds scheduled.  Silversea is where the growth is.

 

obviously the billion $ was not revenue.

Certainly makes the changes in Celebrity, with the all inclusives,  a lot more sense.    They're looking to grab the Azamara customers.

[SeaHunt]

Saw that the Pacific Princess has been sold to an "unknown buyer" -  there's lots of speculation on other boards that she's going to Azamara (Sycamore). 🙂

[Ourusualbeach]

36 minutes ago, SeaHunt said:

Saw that the Pacific Princess has been sold to an "unknown buyer" -  there's lots of speculation on other boards that she's going to Azamara (Sycamore). 🙂

Makes sense as she is one of the ships from Renaissance cruise lines and three of her sister ships are with Azamara. 

Edited January 21, 2021 by Ourusualbeach