Genting HK to dispose of 20m Norwegian Cruise Line shares

GENTING Hong Kong announced on Thursday it will dispose of some 20 million shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) - of which 10 million shares will be sold by Genting's wholly owned subsidiary Star NCLC - for an aggregate consideration of US$546.1 million.

The sale proceeds - amounting to about US$389.3 million - will be used for general working capital for the group and to fund new investments of the group should suitable opportunities arise, said Genting in a statement.

Upon completion of the offering, the percentage of the NCLH shares held by Star NCLC will decrease from about 22 per cent to about 17.7 per cent. As a result, the group will cease to account for its share of results and net assets of NCLH as an "associate" with effect from May 26, 2015, the date of completion of the offering.

Ceasing to account for NCLH as an "associate" will give rise to an one-off accounting gain in an amount of approximately US$1.69 billion based on the difference between the market value of the NCLH shares owned by Star NCLC on the date of the underwriting agreement (about US$573 million on May 19, 2015) and the carrying value of such NCLH shares in the group's consolidated financial statements.

Said the statement: "Dividends from NCLH, if any, will be accounted for in the group's consolidated income statement."

Genting shares will resume trading on Thursday.