Business Set to Move Forward with a Focused
Portfolio and Enhanced Financial Position to Drive
Growth, Continuing to Create Amazing Experiences for its Millions
of Guests and Commuters
NEW
YORK, July 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/
-- Hornblower Group ("Hornblower" or the "Company") announced
today that it has successfully completed its financial
restructuring process and emerged with new majority ownership, a
focused portfolio and financial flexibility to support its growth
over the long-term, allowing the company to continue to serve
world-class experiences to its millions of guests and commuters
across the globe.
Hornblower delivers a wide range of water and land-based
experiences, including trusted daily ferry transportation and
dinner and sightseeing cruises that include iconic landmark
destinations such as the Statute of Liberty, Alcatraz Island and Niagara Falls. The company proudly serves over
20 million guests each year in more than 100 countries and 50 U.S.
cities through the following offerings:
- City Cruises, offering public dining and sightseeing cruises
that create experiences across more than 20 destinations in the
U.S., Canada and the UK.
- Transportation services to three major globally renowned
attractions: Statue of Liberty,
Alcatraz and Niagara Falls.
- Walks & Devour, providing sightseeing and food tours in
Europe, Canada and the U.S.
- Ferry & Transportation, transporting commuters, vehicles
and other cargo across inland and coastal waterways in the
Northeast, including operations in NYC and Puerto Rico.
- Anchor Operating System, a subsidiary of Hornblower Group and
independent entity, providing operating and ticketing systems for
the maritime and tourism industries.
Kevin Rabbitt, Hornblower Chief
Executive Officer, said, "Today marks a new beginning for
Hornblower. We have an expert team with a long history of
delivering safe, world-class experiences. We have the continued
support of our government agency and business partners, and we have
new owners who support our strategic priorities. I am excited about
the future and for what we will deliver to our guests and commuters
around the world."
With the completion of the financial restructuring, funds
managed by Strategic Value Partners, LLC and its affiliates
(together, "SVP"), a global alternative investment firm, have
acquired majority ownership of Hornblower with Crestview Partners
("Crestview") retaining a significant minority position in the
Company. As a result of the restructuring process, Hornblower
reduced its total debt by approximately $720
million (or more than 70%) and substantially increased its
liquidity, which will allow the Company to continue to invest in
the growth and expansion of its businesses.
David Geenberg, Co-Head of the
North American Investment Team at SVP, said, "We are thrilled to
see Hornblower enter this new era of growth. The Company is a
leader in the maritime space, with a dedicated crew, robust
infrastructure and an unwavering commitment to safety and service
excellence. Together, we will build on this strong foundation, with
a plan to grow the portfolio of world-class consumer experiences
and setting the standard for public-private partnerships in ferries
and transportation."
Brian Cassidy, President of
Crestview, added, "Following the completion of this process, we
believe that the Company has a strong balance sheet and is
positioned to continue meeting the travel and transportation needs
of their guests and commuters. We look forward to continuing our
partnership with Hornblower."
Advisors
Guggenheim Securities, LLC is serving as investment banker to
Hornblower, Alvarez & Marsal North
America, LLC is serving as financial advisor, Paul, Weiss,
Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is serving as legal counsel and
Porter Hedges LLP is serving as co-counsel.
Perella Weinberg Partners LP is serving as investment banker to
SVP and other Hornblower lenders, FTI Consulting, Inc. is serving
as financial advisor and Milbank LLP is serving as legal
advisor.
PJT Partners is serving as financial advisor to Crestview,
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is
serving as legal counsel and Vinson & Elkins LLP is serving as
co-counsel.
About Hornblower Group
Hornblower Group is a global leader in experiences and
transportation. Spanning a 100-year history, Hornblower Group's
portfolio of international offerings includes water-based
experiences (dining and sightseeing cruises), land-based
experiences (walking tours, food tours and excursions) and ferry
and transportation services. City Experiences, Hornblower
Group's premier experience division, offers land- and water-based
experiences as well as ferry and transportation
services. Hornblower Marine, a subsidiary of Hornblower
Group, provides vessel outhaul and maintenance services at
Bridgeport Boatworks in Bridgeport,
Connecticut. Additionally, Anchor Operating System,
LLC, a subsidiary of Hornblower Group and independent
entity, provides reservation, ticketing and website integration
services for clients in the transportation, tourism and
entertainment industries. Today, Hornblower Group's global
portfolio covers more than 100 countries and territories, over 50
U.S. cities and serves more than 20 million guests annually.
Headquartered in San Francisco,
California, Hornblower Group's additional corporate offices
reside in Boston, Massachusetts;
Chicago, Illinois; London, United Kingdom; New York, New York; Dublin, Ireland; and across Ontario, Canada. For more information,
visit hornblowercorp.com.
About SVP
SVP is a global alternative investment firm that focuses on
special situations, private equity, opportunistic credit, and
financing opportunities. The firm uses a combination of sourcing,
financial and operational expertise to help its portfolio companies
unlock value and accelerate their businesses. SVP has significant
influence or control with respect to more than 15 businesses around
the world, which have approximately 100,000 employees and
over $12 billion in revenues. The firm invests in a broad
range of sectors including significant experience in travel and
transportation, with influence or control of leading global
businesses including major toll roads, an aircraft manager and
lessor, and an airport services company. Today, SVP manages
over $18 billion in assets under management, and since
inception, has invested more than $47 billion of capital.
The firm has over 200 employees, including approximately 100
investment professionals, across its main offices
in Greenwich (CT) and London, and additional offices
in New York and Tokyo. Learn more
at www.SVPGlobal.com.
About Crestview
Founded in 2004, Crestview is a private equity firm focused on
the middle market. The firm is based in New York and
manages funds with approximately $10 billion of aggregate
capital commitments. The firm is led by a group of partners who
have complementary experience and distinguished backgrounds in
private equity, finance, operations and management. Crestview has
senior investment professionals focused on sourcing and managing
investments in each of the specialty areas of the firm: media,
industrials and financial services. For more information, please
visit www.crestview.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains various forward-looking statements
within the meaning of US federal securities laws. Forward-looking
statements are statements other than statements of historical fact.
They include statements regarding Hornblower's current
expectations, management's outlook guidance or forecasts of future
events, and the assumptions on which such statements are based. The
forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations of
Hornblower's management and are inherently subject to uncertainties
and changes in circumstances and their potential effects and speak
only as of the date of such statement. There can be no assurance
that future developments will be those that have been anticipated.
These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks,
uncertainties or other assumptions that may cause actual results or
performance to be materially different from those expressed or
implied by these forward-looking statements. As a result,
forward-looking statements should be understood to be only
predictions and statements of our current beliefs and are not
guarantees of performance. Hornblower undertakes no obligation to
update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
law.
Contacts
Hornblower
Melissa Gunderson
Senior Vice President, Global Communications and Brand
Hornblower Group
PR@hornblower.com
OR
Michael Freitag / Aaron Palash / Aura
Reinhard
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer
Katcher
212-355-4449
SVP
Liz Bruce
Managing Director, Head of Communications and Brand
media@svpglobal.com
Crestview
Jeffrey Taufield / Daniel Yunger
Kekst CNC
212-521-4800
jeffrey.taufield@kekstcnc.com / daniel.yunger@kekstcnc.com
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SOURCE Hornblower Group