December 14, 2001
Carnival reshuffles newbuild program
Carnival Corporation is slightly reshuffling its branding and its newbuilding program to put more emphasis on the British market..
Today, it announced it had signed a letter of intent with Itally's Fincantieri for the construction of a new 1,968-passenger liner for its Cunard brand.
The ship, which will cost approximately $400 million, will be
delivered iin January 2005, one year after the launch of the
line's much anticipated Queen Mary 2.
The 2005 delivery has been made possible by transferring a newbuilding slot originally allocated to Carnival's Holland America Line, which
today announced a revised newbuilding delivery schedule from Fincantieri.
As previously announced, the first Holland America ship currently on order at the yard, the 1,848 passenger ms Zuiderdam will be delivered Nov. 15, 2002 and sail on its
maiden voyage Dec. 14, 2002, on a seven-day Caribbean cruise from
Ft. Lauderdale.
Holland America Line's new ms Oosterdam, is scheduled for delivery in
June 2003.
Two other vessels, currently unnamed, are scheduled for delivery
to Holland America Line in April 2004 and October 2005. The fifth ship, a new
build option, if exercised, will be delivered in May 2006.
A January 2005 delivery slot has now been assigned to the Cunard newbuilding.
l
Court extends FGH deadline
Friede Goldman Halter, Inc. announced tthis week that the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court has extended until February 11, 2002 the exclusivity period for filing of a reorganization plan. The primary secured lending group and the Official Unsecured Creditors' Committee
unanimously supported this extension, says FGH.
The Restructuring Committee of the Board of Directors has been evaluating expressions of interest received from potential strategic and financial parties. These interested parties will conduct final due diligence in the next 30 days, and the Restructuring Committee expects to make its recommendation prior to February 1, 2002. Both the
Restructuring Committee and the Official Unsecured Creditors' Committee are evaluating all possible alternatives for the Company.
James Decker, Director, Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin, the
exclusive investment advisor to FGH, commented, "Discussions are being
conducted with numerous interested parties who are keenly interested
in the business units of FGH. We expect spirited competition in the
next 30 days as the process narrows down to specific contract
negotiations."
Jack Stone, Principal, Glass & Associates, Inc. and Chief
Restructuring Advisor to FGH, commented,"The business units of FGH
continue to realize improvement as the management team focuses on the
profitability of the business and proposals to customers. The support
of the customers, suppliers and employees has been remarkable and
reflects credit on the actions of management."
T. Jay Collins, Chairman of the Restructuring Committee of the
Board, commented, "All feasible solutions are being evaluated with the
objective of maximizing the value of FGH."
