Norwegian Cruise Line files for a $250 million IPO

Norwegian Cruise Line, the smallest of the three major North American cruise brands, has filed to become a public company – again.


Under a new parent company name, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., the company filed for an initial public offering in the United States, nine months after it filed an IPO as NCL Corporation Ltd., with an offering of up to $250 million in shares.


In today's filing, called an S-1 registration, Norwegian said that it expects to list its shares on NASDAQ under the symbol NCLH, and that it intends to use the proceeds from the share sale to pay down some of its debt.

In a statement, Norwegian said it withdrew its prior S-1 registration under NCL Corporation Ltd., and that Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. will be the name of the new parent company upon completion of the offering.

Norwegian's first filing for an IPO came last October, the day after it announced a new, two-ship order for delivery in 2013 and 2014 that will expand its capacity by more than 30%.

Norwegian is privately owned by Asian cruise and gaming company Genting HK (which has a 50% stake) and two financial firms, Apollo Management (37.5%) and TPG Capital (12.5%).

The cruise line, far smaller than North America's two largest cruise companies, Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., has undergone major changes since Apollo purchased it in 2008.

Many of Norwegian's top executives were replaced and the new management made sweeping changes to the line's itineraries, onboard service and amenities. One the most extreme was the downsizing of Norwegian's once four-ship strong Hawaii program, a money-losing operation that is now down to one vessel, the Pride of America.