Largest cruise vessels ever built in Germany to be financed by European banking consortium led by KfW IPEX Bank
Frankfurt am Main (ots)
A European banking consortium led by KfW-IPEX Bank has secured commitments for Norwegian Cruise Line (Norwegian) based in Miami to finance two cruise vessels to be built by the shipyard Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany.
A group of five lead arrangers, consisting of Deutsche Schiffsbank, DNB NOR, HSBC, KfW-IPEX-Bank and Nordea committed to finance the new vessels in accordance with OECD rules concerning Hermes export credit cover and the CIRR Scheme for ship financing. The financing may also be used to fund payments made during the construction period.
The two new vessels with a contract price of approximately 1.2 billion belong to the Post-Panamax class. With a gross tonnage of 143,500, the two vessels are currently the largest passenger/cruise ships to be built in Germany. When completed in April 2013 and 2014 respectively, they will each have approximately 4,000 passenger berths.
"This financing agreement continues our longstanding cooperation with both Norwegian and Meyer Werft. As one of the leading shipbuilding financiers, this underlines our structuring capability in the cruise industry. At the same time we support German export business and help to secure employment in a highly innovative industry in northern Germany," said Dr. Carsten Wiebers, Head of the Ship Finance Department at KfW IPEX-Bank.
Beyond their function as Lead Arrangers, Nordea is acting as Documentation Agent and, together with DnB NOR, as Bookrunners. Commerzbank holds the function of the Hermes Agent while KfW IPEX-Bank is heading the consortium as Facility Agent.
With a current capacity of some 26,200 berths, spread across 11 modern, purpose-built Freestyle Cruising ships, Norwegian Cruise Line is currently the third-largest cruise operator.
Meyer Werft is a family-owned shipyard in the sixth generation, building ships for over 215 years. This most modern shipyard builds highly innovative cruise vessels for their worldwide customers, and is the largest employer in the Papenburg region.
For a picture of the vessel, click on the keywords "Materials for the Press -> Foto" on the Press pages of KfW IPEX Bank. http://www.presseportal.de/go2/Cruise_Vessel
About KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH
Within KfW Bankengruppe KfW IPEX-Bank is in charge of international project and export finance. It is responsible for providing financing to support the German and European economy, a task derived from the legal mandate assigned to KfW Bankengruppe. Its prime focus is on medium and long-term lending to boost the export economy, develop economic and social infrastructure and support environmental and climate protection projects. KfW IPEX-Bank operates as a legally independent group subsidiary and plays a major role in fulfilling the promotional mission of KfW Bankengruppe. It has approx. 521 employees (as of 31.12.2009) and is represented in the key economic and financial centres around the globe.
Pressekontakt:
KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH, Palmengartenstraße 5-9, 60325 Frankfurt
Pressestelle: E-Mail: dela.strumpf@kfw.de
Tel. 069 7431-2984, Fax: 069 7431-9409, E-Mail:
info@kfw-ipex-bank.de, Internet: www.kfw-ipex-bank.de
Original content of: KfW IPEX-Bank, transmitted by news aktuell