SINGAPORE — Airport and cruise terminal services provider SATS has agreed to buy Singapore Cruise Centre from investment company Temasek Holdings for S$110 million, to ride the waves of the growing cruise industry in the Asia-Pacific region.
Following the acquisition, SATS will own the international cruise terminal and regional ferry terminal at HarbourFront Centre as well as the Tanah Merah and Pasir Panjang ferry terminals through Singapore Cruise Centre, locking its hold on the market by adding these to its Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore.
The Marina Bay Cruise Centre, the home base of luxury liners such as Carnival Corp’s Sapphire Princess, has berthing spaces for large ships that Singapore Cruise Centre does not have.
SATS will buy all shares of the cruise and ferry terminal operator through its subsidiaries, SATS Airport Services and SATS-Creuers Cruise Services, which will hold approximately 92 per cent and 8 per cent of Singapore Cruise Centre, respectively, it said yesterday. The deal is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.
SATS foresees opportunities to grow further given the positive outlook for the cruise sector, driven by encouraging trends in both cruise ship arrivals and passenger throughput.
“As the world’s major cruise lines increase their presence in Asia, regional terminals are expanding to capture the growing demand for cruise travel. With this transaction, the combined entity will be well-positioned to compete with the regional cruise terminals to benefit from this growth,” said SATS.
The purchase price was negotiated with Temasek, SATS’ largest shareholder which owns 43 per cent of the company, at arm’s length and was arrived at based on a number of factors, including market conditions and Singapore Cruise Centre’s business prospects, SATS said. It said it would finance the purchase with internal funds.
SATS-Creuers has also been given a call option to purchase another 42.3 per cent of Singapore Cruise Centre which, if exercised by March 31 next year, will increase its shareholding to 50.3 per cent. SATS-Creuers is a 60:40 joint venture formed by SATS Airport Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SATS, and Creuers del Port de Barcelona to operate the Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore.
Singapore’s cruise passenger throughput has increased at a compounded annual growth rate of 6.5 per cent from 514,000 passengers in 2003 to 913,000 passengers last year, according to the Singapore Tourism Board. By 2017, passenger throughput in Singapore is expected to grow to 1.5 million, while that of the Asia-Pacific region is projected to reach 3.7 million by 2017 and 7 million by 2020.
Mr Tan Chuan Lye, SATS President and Chief Executive, said: “Singapore Cruise Centre has a compelling fit with our existing cruise handling and terminal operations. Together with our strong partnership with Creuers, this transaction will enable us to grow our gateway services business, which in turn will benefit the cruise industry here as a whole.
“The future is bright for the cruise industry in Asia-Pacific. The combined entity can leverage our regional airport presence … (and) bolster Singapore’s position as an attractive regional cruise hub and home port for cruise lines. ”
The company will be extending its Cruise-Fly and Fly-Cruise services, currently offered to passengers at Marina Bay Cruise Centre, to the HarbourFront terminal, said Executive Director Alex Hungate. These services allow passengers transferring between Changi Airport and the cruise centres to check-in and have their baggage delivered between the two destinations.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét