MIAMI, June 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival
Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's
largest leisure travel company, through its subsidiary, Holland
America Princess Alaska Tours, announced today it has entered
into a purchase and sale agreement to acquire TWC Enterprises
Limited's White Pass & Yukon
Route (WP&YR) division, which includes White Pass' port,
railroad and retail operations in Skagway, Alaska. The transaction is scheduled
to close on July 31, 2018 subject to
customary closing conditions.
In addition to the acquisition, Holland America Princess Alaska
Tours also executed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), subject to
review and approval, with Survey Point Holdings, Inc., an Alaskan
company based in Ketchikan, and
several of its affiliated companies. This MOU will create a joint
venture making Survey Point the managing partner of the port, White
Pass Scenic Railway and the associated retail operations that
Carnival Corporation & plc ("Carnival plc") is acquiring from
TWC Enterprises.
As part of the new MOU and joint venture, the partners plan to
make investments in the business, which will enable continued
economic development and job growth in Skagway and the surrounding region, making a
positive impact on the local economy and further benefitting the
Alaska tourism industry. These
investments will include support for expansion of docking
facilities to accommodate the newest generation of cruise ships, a
key to the port's long-term success.
Under the agreement, Survey Point will continue managing
WP&YR's day-to-day terminal operations and customer relations.
Survey Point and its subsidiaries, Cruise Line Agencies of
Alaska, Amak Towing and Southeast
Stevedoring, have been actively engaged in Skagway operations for over 40 years and will
continue to enhance Skagway as a
thriving cruise and shore excursion destination, and foster
collaborative working relationships with the community and cruise
lines that call there.
"As the gateway to the legendary Klondike Gold Rush region,
Skagway is beloved by our guests
and crew for its warm hospitality and distinctively Alaskan array
of sightseeing and recreational activities," said Stein Kruse, group CEO of Carnival Corporation
& plc's Holland America Group and Carnival UK. "We are
delighted that the Skagway port
will continue to be locally owned and independently operated by an
Alaskan company. Along with Survey Point, we have a long and valued
history in Alaska, and remain very
committed to the continued development and success of the entire
region as one our most popular destinations."
The MOU also outlines that Survey Point, P3 Group and Rail
Management Services – an affiliate of Survey Point – will own a
majority stake in the company, and Carnival Corporation
& plc will retain a minority position in the
enterprise.
About Survey Point Holdings, Inc.
Survey Point
Holdings is an Alaskan company based in Ketchikan. Survey Point Holdings, and its
subsidiaries, Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska, Amak Towing and Southeast Stevedoring,
have been actively engaged in Skagway operations for over 40 years.
About Rail Management Services
Rail Management
Services is an affiliate of Survey Point Holdings and is the
nation's largest operator of rail terminals providing loading,
switching, maintenance, roadability and train makeup services for
over 30 years to all the largest railroads throughout the United States
About P3 Group
P3 Group is the largest port operator
in the Americas, and with its affiliates it is the world's largest
independent operator of cruise terminals and ports. Its founding
shareholders, the Smith/Hemingway family, have been operating and
investing in Alaska in partnership
with Survey Point Holdings, since 1951, spanning three generations
of family management.
About Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival
Corporation & plc is the world's largest leisure
travel company and among the most profitable and financially strong
in the cruise and vacation industries, with a portfolio of 10
dynamic brands that include nine of the world's leading cruise
lines. With operations in North America, Australia,
Europe and Asia, its portfolio features Carnival
Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America
Line, Seabourn, P&O Cruises (Australia), Costa Cruises, AIDA
Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard, as well as Fathom,
the corporation's immersion and enrichment experience brand.
Together, the corporation's cruise lines
operate 103 ships with 234,000 lower berths visiting over
700 ports around the world, with 18 new ships scheduled
to be delivered between 2018 and 2023. Carnival Corporation
& plc also operates Holland America Princess Alaska Tours,
the leading tour company in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon.
Traded on both the New York and London Stock
Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only
group in the world to be included in both the S&P 500
and the FTSE 100 indices.
In 2017, Fast Company recognized Carnival
Corporation as being among the "Top 10 Most Innovative
Companies" in both the design and travel categories. Fast
Company specifically recognized Carnival
Corporation for its work in developing OceanMedallion™, a
high-tech wearable device that enables the world's first
interactive guest experience platform capable of transforming
vacation travel into a highly personalized and elevated level of
customized service.
Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com,
www.fathom.org, www.hollandamerica.com, www.princess.com,
www.seabourn.com, www.aida.de, www.costacruise.com, www.cunard.com,
www.pocruises.com.au, and www.pocruises.com.
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SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc