Saudi fund takes minority stake in Carnival
Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund has taken an 8.2% stake in Carnival Corp., according to a Monday financial filing from the cruise giant.
As of Friday’s closing price, the new stake was worth $369.4 million, according to Bloomberg.
Although shares closed up 20% Monday to $10.21, Carnival’s stock price is still down about 80% this year as the number of coronavirus-related deaths on cruise ships has risen and ships have been turned away from ports.
Still, the Saudi purchase is a sign of investor confidence in a sector that has been battered as cruise lines around the world announced last month they would be halting operations for at least 30 days. Alongside Carnival’s Monday spike, shares in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings soared 21% and 18%.
The Saudi shares were purchased on the open market. Carnival previously raised a total of $6.25 billion in debt and equity financing last week, including the sale of $500 million in new shares. The Financial Times reported that the Saudi shares were not purchased as part of that sale.
Carnival declined to comment. The Saudi fund did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 9:32 AM.
