Star Cruises to launch Hong Kong IPO

Star Cruises has signed a $600 million, five-year loan facility with a syndicate of 16 banks and will pay interest on this of 100-150 basis points over six-month Libor depending on the company's interest cover, says Gerard Lim Ewe Keng, vice-president for corporate planning at Star Cruises. The facility, arranged by HSBC and Barclays Capital, refinances a $600 million bridging loan taken out to finance the $1.9 billion acquisition of Norwegian Cruise Lines(NCL) earlier this year.