Back
in business.
The recently acquired travel company Hornblower Group has announced that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court
for the Southern District of Texas has confirmed the company’s plan of reorganization.
Hornblower
expects to successfully complete its financial restructuring and emerge from
the court-supervised process in the coming weeks.
Hornblower
has used this process to position the business for future success with a more
focused portfolio. It will also introduce new majority ownership and strengthen its balance
sheet for greater financial flexibility.
The terms of the restructuring plan include:
- Hornblower’s majority ownership will transition to funds managed by Strategic Value Partners, LLC and its affiliates (together, “SVP”), and Crestview Partners (“Crestview”) will retain a significant minority position in the Company.
- Crestview will become the sole owner of Journey Beyond, a stand-alone operating unit of Hornblower and the leading experiential travel provider in Australia.
- The Company will have reduced its total debt by approximately $720 million and substantially increased its liquidity.
“With the Court’s approval of the Plan, we are closer to emerging as a stronger
company, with a more focused portfolio and additional financial flexibility to
fuel our growth” Hornblower CEO Kevin Rabbitt said in a statement. “We look forward to completing this process and continuing to
build on our position as a global leader in world-class experiences and
transportation.”
“Throughout this process, we have continued to provide our
land- and water-based travel experiences to guests around the world and bring
commuters reliable transportation services. This was largely due to the
outstanding dedication and unwavering efforts of our entire Hornblower Crew,” he added.
“We
are also grateful to our financial stakeholders as well as our vendors,
suppliers and business and government agency partners and our loyal employees
for their support and continued partnership as we enter Hornblower’s next phase
of growth.”
In a statement, David Geenberg, Co-Head of the North American Investment
Team at SVP, said, “We couldn’t be more excited to embark on this next
chapter with Hornblower Group, a premiere leader in travel experiences and
transportation. We are looking forward to collaborating with the leadership
team to support the company’s strong operating staff, excellent service, and
exceptional guest experiences to usher in Hornblower’s next era of growth and
success.”
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