GENTING Hong Kong Ltd (Genting HK) is involved in a legal tussle with the German government. It isn’t about a casino licence in Deutschland but a shipyard in Germany’s northeast state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern an investment that Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay made in 2015. The rationale for the US$35 million-plus investment was to have a vertical integration, meaning owning a shipyard that could build cruise ships for Genting HK’s cruise operations.
Casino cruise ship operator Genting Hong Kong Ltd says it has agreement on a “holistic recapitalisation” of the group, and “amendment and extension” of the group’s “material financial indebtedness of circa US$2.6 billion” after what it termed “intensive negotiations with its stakeholders”.
Genting Hong Kong – part of the Malaysia-based Genting group – controls the Dream Cruises, Crystal Cruises and Star Cruises brands. The firm is also an investor in the Resorts World Manila casino resort in the Philippines.
The announced deal came against the background of the Covid-19 pandemic that “has had, and continues to have, a material impact on the financial position and results of operation of the group”, with many cruise routes around the world suspended as a Covid-19 countermeasure.
Genting Hong Kong to help Dream Cruises sail again via new US$248 million shares subscription
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Genting Hong Kong has boosted its stake in Dream Cruises as part of a US$307 million deal aimed at keeping the global cruise ship operator afloat.
The three-way transaction sees Genting Hong Kong’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Ocean World, acquire 207.2 new Subscription Shares in Dream Cruises for a consideration of US$247.9 million, while an entity called Darting Investment Holdings Ltd has acquired 49.3 Subscription Shares for US$59 million. Darting had previously acquired a 32.58% stake in Dream Cruises from Ocean World via a series of transactions in 2019 and 2020.