Genting Hong Kong cuts stake in NCLH

A percentage of Genting Hong Kong’s shares in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings will soon be sold as the company decided to trim down its stake.

Hong Kong.- Genting Hong Kong, the casino cruise ship operator, has decided to cut down its stake in the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) and will sell 3.29 percent of its shares to third party investors. The operator has agreed with shareholders Apollo Funds and TPG Fund to sell a 6.58 percent of its investment (15 million ordinary shares), leaving Genting with about 7.84 stake at the company.

As CalvinAyre reported, there’s still no fixed priced for the sale, but projections have Genting Hong Kong booking a net gain of nearly US$90.1 million from the sale of a 3.29 stake that’s currently controlled by its subsidiary Star NCLC Holdings Ltd. Furthermore, the casino operator said the aggregate market value of the shares it sought to dispose was approximately US$428 million, which was calculated using the closing price of the NCLH shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on August 10.

In a company filing, Genting Hong Kong said: “The sale proceeds for the disposal will be used as general working capital and capital expenditure for the Genting Hong Kong group and/or to fund new investments of the group should suitable opportunities arise.”

The casino operator had already alerted shareholders of a potential net loss of between US$200 million and US$220 million in the first half of the year. Genting Hong Kong already lost US$73.7 million in the same period last year, meaning 2017’s losses are significantly higher. The company explained that losses are due to the increased competition for its Crystal Cruises shipboard casino business has generated a rising of costs at the German building shipyards (acquired in April 2016) and general depreciation of its new Genting Dream vessel.