Cruise operator Viking to valued at up to $10.7 billion after IPO terms set

By Tomi Kilgore

Company could raise up to $275 million in the IPO, and selling shareholders could raise up to $825 million

Viking Holdings Ltd. has set terms for its initial public offering, which puts the cruise operator on a heading to be valued at up to $10.8 billion.

The Bermuda-based company said 44 million shares will be offered in the IPO, including 11 million shares by the company and 33 million offered by selling shareholders.

The IPO is expected to price between $21 and $25 a share, meaning the company would raise up to $275 million and selling shareholders would raise up to $825 million.

There is expected to be a total of 431.46 million shares outstanding after the IPO, 303.68 million ordinary shares, which carry one vote each, and 127.8 million special shares, which have 10 votes each. At the expected pricing, the company would have a market capitalization of between $9.06 billion and $10.79 billion.

The stock (VIK) is expected to list on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "VIK." Viking will join Royal Caribbean Group (RCL), Carnival Corp. (CCL) and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH) as NYSE-listed cruise operators. Viking's expected market cap would place it third, just above Norwegian.

Viking reported a net loss of $1.86 billion on total revenue of $4.71 billion in 2023, after booking net income of $398.5 million on revenue of $3.18 billion in 2022.

There are 11 underwriters of the IPO, led by BofA Securities, J.P. Morgan, UBS Investment Bank and Wells Fargo Securities.

Founder and Chief Executive Torstein Hagen will have a controlling stake in the company. He'll own 52.5% of the shares outstanding and will have 87% of the voting power.

"The principal purposes of this offering are to increase our capitalization and financial flexibility and to create a public market for our ordinary shares," the company said.

Viking said it does not expect to pay any dividends "in the foreseeable future."

The company is looking to go public at a time when the Renaissance IPO ETF (IPO) has lost 3.7% year to date while the S&P 500 has gained 4.1%.

-Tomi Kilgore

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04-22-24 0745ET

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