Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is remaining silent on reportedly looking to sell part of the company to private interests amid unprecedented challenges wrought by Covid-19.
The Frank Del Rio-led owner of 27 ships has hired Goldman Sachs to explore entering into a private interest in public equity (PIPE) stake sale with several private equity firms, Reuters has reported.
Reuters, which cited anonymous sources, said that "no deal is certain" for the Miami-based company.
Norwegian and Goldman Sachs did not return calls seeking confirmation of the supposed talks.
Its shares, which trade on Nasdaq as NCLH, declined 4.5% to $11.82 on Wall Street through early afternoon Monday.
The pandemic has taken Norwegian and the rest of the once-booming cruise sector to its knees within a few months amid onboard virus outbreaks, cancelled voyages and shattered earnings.
The company has suspended its fleet until 10 May, while its peers Carnival Corp and Royal Caribbean Cruises have suspended their ships into June.
These stoppages have forced these three majors, known collectively as "The Big Three", to take out billions of dollars in debt and equity to remain afloat amid devastating losses.
Norwegian has taken out $1.55bn in revolving credit to help it survive the downturn.
Almost two weeks ago, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia bought a $420m stake in Carnival after the Arnold Donald-led company offered 62.5m shares at $8 each.
