Royal Caribbean has agreed to sell a 51% in its Pullmantur and Croisieres de France (CDF) cruise brands to a Madrid-based private equity firm.
The cruise giant will take a 49% stake in the new joint venture with Springwater Capital, as well as retaining full ownership of the ships and planes currently operated by both brands.
According to Bloomberg, Springwater Capital specialises in, among other things, turnaround and distressed investments.
In its most recent set of full-year results, Royal Caribbean said that Pullmantur brand “would refocus to the core market of Spain as a result of the deterioration of economies in Latin America.” The change led to an impairment charge of $411 million.
“Pullmantur and CDF have a long history of offering authentic, localised cruise vacations to their home markets,” said Richard Fain, chairman and chief executive of Royal Caribbean.
“We look forward to the new focus that this joint venture with Springwater will bring to these companies as they seek to grow.”
Martin Gruschka, chief executive of Springwater, said: “The transaction leverages our firm’s travel sector expertise, and will take advantage of Pullmantur and CDF’s strong client and travel industry relationships in the Spanish and French markets. These relationships – paired with Royal Caribbean’s cruise management – will create the foundation for a successful, long-term strategic partnership.”
The joint venture is expected to be completed later this year.
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