AURORA Expeditions has thrown its hat in the ring for the assets of collapsed American travel company Vantage, which ceased trading last week and has declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy (CW 03 Jul). The cruise line’s Managing Director Michael Heath (pictured) confirmed it has expressed interest in Vantage, “and should the...
AURORA Expeditions has thrown its hat in the ring for the assets of collapsed American travel company Vantage, which ceased trading last week and has declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy (CW 03 Jul).
The cruise line’s Managing Director Michael Heath (pictured) confirmed it has expressed interest in Vantage, “and should the opportunity arise and the terms reasonable, we are interested in submitting an offer”.
Aurora’s involvement comes despite the Boston-based company having already detailed a proposed acquisition by interests associated with New Zealand-based Heritage Expeditions and its vessel operator, Nordic Hamburg, under an affiliated Singapore-based firm called United Travel Pte Ltd.
Vantage’s website notes it is seeking court approval to complete the sale to United promptly, “subject to any higher and better offers that may be submitted through the court-supervised sale process”.
At a hearing on Wed, a representative of Aurora subsidiary Pacific Travel Partners Inc also confirmed the cruise line’s interest in Vantage, saying if United pulls out, it would match the US$1 million offer for various assets, including the customer list, website and brand, and could “wire the money immediately”.
Another unnamed potential bidder was also represented by an attorney at the hearing.
Vantage operated two expedition vessels under a charter arrangement from Sunstone Ships, which are in the same series as Aurora’s Greg Mortimer and Sylvia Earle.
After the hearing the court issued an order approving the sale procedures to United Travel, but specified additional documentation including information on the parent company of the proposed buyer.
As well as the US$1m price, United will pay a percentage of gross revenues over a five-year period from 01 Jan 2024, and provide a credit to Vantage customers who have paid, in whole or part, for a trip reservation made with the firm.
