Tag Archives: Bank of America

Viking May Be Eying IPO

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Viking could be eyeing an initial public offering as soon as the second quarter of this year, according to a report from Bloomberg.

With a dominant position in the European river cruise market, a fleet of ocean-going cruise ships, two expedition ships, a joint venture in China and a Mississippi river operation, the company continues to expand in the cruise industry, with more riverboats and ocean-going ships on order.

If Viking were to list, it would join the other public cruise companies, including Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Group, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Lindblad Expeditions. Of those four, Lindblad was the last go to public in 2015.

According to Bloomberg, the IPO could raise over $500 million and Viking is said to be working with Bank of America, UBS, Wells Fargo and JP Morgan on the listing.

Carnival most improved in brand ranking

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By Tom Stieghorst
Carnival Cruise Lines claimed the top spot in a brand research company’s list of most improved U.S. consumer brands at mid-year 2014.

The cruise line’s change in consumer perception score in the YouGov BrandIndex was double the improvement level achieved by Bank of America, which placed second on the list. Facebook ranked as the third most improved brand.

“Carnival not only brought its consumer perception back in line with the rest of industry, but their sales potential, indicated by consumers who say they would consider the brand for their next cruise, has rebounded above the rest of the cruise sector,” said Ted Marzilli, CEO of BrandIndex.

Hotwire ranked as the most improved brand in the travel agent category, although Priceline has the highest overall ranking in the segment.

Brands are rated using YouGov BrandIndex’s Buzz score which asks respondents, “If you’ve heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?”