Travel Company Hornblower Group Eyes Return to Business After Court Ruling

Image: Cruise ship at sea. (Photo Credit: Adobe)
Image: Cruise ship at sea. (Photo Credit: Adobe)
Rich Thomaselli
by Rich Thomaselli
Last updated: 8:25 AM ET, Sat June 8, 2024

Back in business.

The recently acquired travel company Hornblower Group has announced that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas has confirmed the company’s plan of reorganization.

Hornblower expects to successfully complete its financial restructuring and emerge from the court-supervised process in the coming weeks.

Hornblower has used this process to position the business for future success with a more focused portfolio. It will also introduce new majority ownership and strengthen its balance sheet for greater financial flexibility.

The terms of the restructuring plan include:

  • Hornblower’s majority ownership will transition to funds managed by Strategic Value Partners, LLC and its affiliates (together, “SVP”), and Crestview Partners ("Crestview") will retain a significant minority position in the Company.
  • Crestview will become the sole owner of Journey Beyond, a stand-alone operating unit of Hornblower and the leading experiential travel provider in Australia.
  • The Company will have reduced its total debt by approximately $720 million and substantially increased its liquidity.

"With the Court’s approval of the Plan, we are closer to emerging as a stronger company, with a more focused portfolio and additional financial flexibility to fuel our growth" Hornblower CEO Kevin Rabbitt said in a statement. "We look forward to completing this process and continuing to build on our position as a global leader in world-class experiences and transportation."

"Throughout this process, we have continued to provide our land- and water-based travel experiences to guests around the world and bring commuters reliable transportation services. This was largely due to the outstanding dedication and unwavering efforts of our entire Hornblower Crew," he added.

"We are also grateful to our financial stakeholders as well as our vendors, suppliers and business and government agency partners and our loyal employees for their support and continued partnership as we enter Hornblower’s next phase of growth."

In a statement, David Geenberg, Co-Head of the North American Investment Team at SVP, said, "We couldn't be more excited to embark on this next chapter with Hornblower Group, a premiere leader in travel experiences and transportation. We are looking forward to collaborating with the leadership team to support the company’s strong operating staff, excellent service, and exceptional guest experiences to usher in Hornblower’s next era of growth and success."


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Rich Thomaselli

Rich Thomaselli

Associate Writer

Editor Associate Writer true 9281 14744 Rich Thomaselli has written for TravelPulse since 2014 and has been a professional journalist for nearly 40 years. His work has appeared in USA Today, the New York Times and New York Yankees publications. He is an 11-time writ

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