- Carnival Corp. is leading peers lower on Thursday after pricing one of the year’s largest equity sales at a steeper discount than usual.
- The world’s largest cruise line fell 13% after the sale priced 102 million of shares at $9.95 each overnight, according to a statement.
- The deal raised about $1 billion that Carnival says it might use to address 2023 debt maturities.
A recent news article published in the Yahoo Finance states that Cruise Stocks Fall After Carnival Sells $1 Billion of Shares.
At least five Carnival stock offerings conducted
The offering price reflects slightly more than a 10% discount to Wednesday’s close, the steepest awarded across at least five Carnival stock offerings conducted since the start of the pandemic.
The shares were offered at $9.95 to $10.50 each, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg on Wednesday.
“This equity raise will cause concern (actually let’s call it panic) across the investment community for sure,” Stifel analyst Steven Wieczynski wrote in a note.
“Why is CCL doing this now when they just raised $1B at 10.5%? Will there be more equity raises coming to address other debt maturities?”
Carnival has now diluted its stock by about 86%
Carnival has now diluted its stock by about 86% since the start of the pandemic, he added. Stifel has one of seven buy ratings on the stock, which also has nine holds and four sells, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
With shares down 45% this year before the offering launched on Wednesday, Wall Street is also questioning the timing of the deal.
“It would have been nice if they did it a few months ago when the stock was double where it is now,” analysts at Vital Knowledge wrote in a note.
Rival Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd fell 8.9%
Rival Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd fell 8.9% and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd is 9.3% lower amid speculation they’ll follow Carnival with stock offerings of their own.
Representatives from all three firms did not respond to requests for comment.
The follow-on offering is the fourth-largest of 2022 in the US and the biggest since early June, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, as most issuers have spent the year trying to wait out the market downturn.
But companies are looking to address balance sheets amid fears of an economic downturn and the prospect of rising interest rates.
Goldman Sachs served as the deal’s sole bookrunner.
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Source: Yahoo finance
