Following the launch of Virgin Cruises on Thursday, rumors surrounding the Virgin Group's latest venture have begun swirling.
According to sources in a recent report from Sky News, the Government Investment Corporation of Singapore (GIC) is set to join lead investment partner Bain Capital as a shareholder in Virgin Cruises.
It should be noted that Bain Capital's involvement was confirmed in Thursday's press release.
The Sky News report adds that GIC is expected to contribute a "substantial sum" to the cruise line's development.
Citing private equity sources, the Britain-based news operation also claims that "at least one Middle East sovereign wealth fund" is investing in Virgin Cruise, in addition to a handful of "family offices" and individuals with "high net worth."
Despite Virgin's announcement, there's still plenty of unknown surrounding the venture. As a result, it's become difficult to differentiate fact from speculation, especially considering the Sir Richard Branson-founded group will want to keep its plans under wraps in order to avoid giving the competition an edge.
On Friday, CruiseIndustryNews.com added fuel to the fire by speculating on some of the latest rumblings.
With funding for Virgin Cruises rumored to be well over $2 billion, there's speculation that the company plans to construct massive vessels. The site also surmises that if ship designs are underway already, "a vessel could be delivered as soon as late 2017."
Fincantieri, Meyer-Turku and STX France are rumored shipyards for Virgin Cruises based on their availability.
However, until Virgin confirms the aforementioned reports and whispers, it's best we take them with a grain of salt.
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