Apollo buys Regent

[Jancruz]

We have some exciting news to share with you about our company. Regent Seven Seas Cruises is being purchased by Apollo Management LP, a New York-based investment group, from Minneapolis-based Carlson.

 

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 my guidance as president of Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and will continue to operate from its Fort Lauderdale, Florida headquarters, and reservations will continue to operate from Omaha, Nebraska. Oceania Cruises will remain in its Miami headquarters, headed by Bob Binder, president of Oceania Cruises. Both Bob and I will report directly to Frank Del Rio, chairman and CEO of Prestige Cruise Holdings.

 

In addition to the strong brand recognition and award-winning products of both brands, there is something else we both share - our commitment to our travel partners. The success of Regent Seven Seas Cruises and our new sister brand has been driven by you and the agency community as a whole. Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises are both renowned for their relationship with the agency community and that is something that will only get stronger as we build new ships, chart new destinations and explore new opportunities with our travel partners.

 

For you, this change of ownership will not have any impact on your relationship with Regent Seven Seas Cruises or your clients' experience on our ships. So the key messages I wish to share with you are:

 

Regent Seven Seas Cruises will continue to operate as a stand-alone brand

We will continue to deliver the same great experiences that your clients have enjoyed and that have made us successful

There are no plans to make changes to our existing offerings or published schedules

Our core management team and key personnel on land and at sea will remain intact

We will partner with Carlson to continue to grow the Regent brand at sea and on land. In addition to our plans to grow Regent at sea, Regent Hotels & Resorts will continue to operate and grow as part of Carlson Hotels Worldwide, the world's ninth largest hotel company. The Regent brand will continue to offer to our guests the very best in luxury service and travel experiences, including the finest personalized service and warm and friendly hospitality worldwide.

 

We are excited about the future of Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and we will keep working with you to provide the very best luxury cruise experience for your clients. Thank you for your continued support of Regent.

 

Kindest personal regards,

 

Mark S. Conroy

President, Regent Seven Seas Cruises

[SeaPeaInn]

Now Frank Delrio has two cruiselines to run. I'm sure Opollo is looking for more acquisitions in the upscale lines. Does Regent have any new ships on order?