UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (date of earliest event reported): May 25, 2022
| Carnival Corporation | Carnival plc | |
| (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) | (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) | |
| Republic of Panama | England and Wales | |
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) | (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) | |
| 001-9610 | 001-15136 | |
| (Commission File Number) | (Commission File Number) | |
| 59-1562976 | 98-0357772 | |
| (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |
3655 N.W. 87th Avenue Miami, Florida 33178-2428 | Carnival House, 100 Harbour Parade, Southampton SO15 1ST, United Kingdom | |
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code) | (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code) | |
| (305) 599-2600 | 011 44 23 8065 5000 | |
| (Registrant’s telephone number, including area code) | (Registrant’s telephone number, including area code) | |
| None | None | |
| (Former name or former address, if changed since last report.) | (Former name or former address, if changed since last report.) |
| CIK | 0001125259 |
| Amendment Flag | False |
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
| ☐ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
| ☐ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
| ☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
| ☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
| Common Stock ($0.01 par value) | CCL | New York Stock Exchange, Inc. | ||
| , Special Voting Share, GBP 1.00 par value and Trust Shares of beneficial interest in the P&O Princess Special Voting Trust | , Inc. | |||
| 1.875% Senior Notes due 2022 | CUK22 | New York Stock Exchange LLC | ||
| 1.000% Senior Notes due 2029 | CUK29 | New York Stock Exchange LLC |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrants are emerging growth companies as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2) of this chapter).
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
| Item 1.01 | Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement. |
Indenture
On May 25, 2022, Carnival Corporation (the “Corporation”) closed its previously announced private offering (the “Notes Offering”) of $1.0 billion aggregate principal amount of 10.500% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2030 (the “Senior Unsecured Notes”). The Senior Unsecured Notes were issued pursuant to an indenture, dated as of May 25, 2022 (the “Indenture”), among the Corporation, Carnival plc, the subsidiary guarantors party thereto, and U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as trustee.
The Senior Unsecured Notes will pay interest semi-annually on June 1 and December 1 of each year, beginning on December 1, 2022, at a rate of 10.500% per year and are callable beginning June 1, 2025. The Senior Unsecured Notes are unsecured and will mature on June 1, 2030.
The Corporation expects to use the net proceeds of the offering of the Senior Unsecured Notes to make scheduled principal payments on debt during fiscal 2023 and for general corporate purposes, including, without limitation, making repayments of its indebtedness, the financing or refinancing of a portion of the purchase price, rental payments, costs and expenses related to certain of its current and future property, plant and equipment (including leased assets and vessels) and their maintenance, repair, replacement and improvements, as well as any other payments related to its vessels’ ready-for-sea costs, in each case to the extent such amounts are not covered by the Corporation’s existing and future export credit facilities.
PJT Partners served as independent financial advisor to Carnival Corporation & plc.
The Senior Unsecured Notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed on an unsecured basis, jointly and severally, by Carnival plc and certain of the Corporation’s and Carnival plc’s subsidiaries that guarantee substantially all of the Corporation’s indebtedness. In the future, each of the Corporation’s and Carnival plc’s subsidiaries (other than immaterial subsidiaries) that guarantees certain other indebtedness of the Corporation, Carnival plc or any other guarantor, including, in each case, indebtedness in an aggregate principal amount in excess of $300 million, will be required to guarantee the Senior Unsecured Notes.
On or after June 1, 2025, the Corporation may redeem the Senior Unsecured Notes at its option, in whole at any time or in part from time to time, upon giving not less than 10 nor more than 60 days’ notice, at the redemption prices set forth in the Indenture. Prior to June 1, 2025, the Corporation may redeem the Senior Unsecured Notes at its option, in whole at any time or in part from time to time, upon giving not less than 10 nor more than 60 days’ notice, at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Senior Unsecured Notes redeemed, plus a “make-whole” premium and accrued and unpaid interest. Notwithstanding the foregoing, at any time and from time to time prior to June 1, 2025, the Corporation may redeem up to 40% of the original aggregate principal amount of the Senior Unsecured Notes (calculated after giving effect to any issuance of additional notes) using the net cash proceeds of one or more equity offerings at a redemption price equal to 110.500%, plus accrued and unpaid interest, so long as at least 50% of the original aggregate principal amount of the Senior Unsecured Notes (calculated after giving effect to any issuance of additional notes) remains outstanding after each such redemption. The Corporation may also redeem the Senior Unsecured Notes, in whole but not in part, at any time, upon giving not less than 10 nor more than 60 days’ prior written notice to the holders of the Senior Unsecured Notes, at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount thereof, together with accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but not including, the redemption date, if the Corporation or any guarantor would have to pay any additional amounts on the Senior Unsecured Notes due to a change in tax laws, regulations or rulings or a change in the official application, administration or interpretation of such laws, regulations or rulings, which in each case is announced and becomes effective after May 18, 2022.
The Indenture contains covenants that limit the ability of the Corporation, Carnival plc and their restricted subsidiaries to, among other things: (i) incur additional indebtedness or issue certain preferred shares; (ii) make dividend payments on or make other distributions in respect of their capital stock or make other restricted payments; (iii) make certain investments; (iv) sell certain assets; (v) create liens on assets; (vi) consolidate, merge, sell or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of their assets; and (vii) enter into certain transactions with their
affiliates. These covenants are subject to a number of important limitations and exceptions. Many of the covenants contained in the Indenture will “fall away” permanently and will no longer apply if, on any date following May 25, 2022, the Senior Unsecured Notes have investment grade ratings from at least two of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC, Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. and Fitch Ratings, Inc. so long as no event of default has occurred and is continuing at such time. Additionally, upon the occurrence of specified change of control triggering events, the Corporation shall offer to repurchase the Senior Unsecured Notes at 101% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but not including, the purchase date.
The Indenture sets forth certain events of default after which the Senior Unsecured Notes may be declared immediately due and payable and sets forth certain types of bankruptcy or insolvency events of default involving the Corporation, Carnival plc, any of the Corporation’s or Carnival plc’s significant subsidiaries or any group of the Corporation’s or Carnival plc’s subsidiaries that, taken together, would constitute a significant subsidiary after which the Senior Unsecured Notes become automatically due and payable.
No sinking fund is provided for the Senior Unsecured Notes.
The Senior Unsecured Notes were offered only to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers in reliance on Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and outside the United States, only to non-U.S. investors in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act. The Senior Unsecured Notes were not, and will not be, registered under the Securities Act or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state laws.
The description of the Indenture and the Senior Unsecured Notes above is qualified in its entirety by reference to the text of the Indenture and the form of Senior Unsecured Note attached thereto, which is attached hereto as Exhibit 10.1 and incorporated by reference herein.
| Item 2.03 | Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement of a Registrant. |
The information required by Item 2.03 relating to the Senior Unsecured Notes and the Indenture is contained in Item 1.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
| Item 8.01 | Other Events. |
On May 25, 2022, Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc issued a press release announcing the closing of the Notes Offering. A copy of the press release announcing the closing of the Notes Offering is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 hereto and incorporated by reference herein.
Cautionary Note Concerning Factors That May Affect Future Results
Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc and their respective subsidiaries are referred to collectively in this Current Report on Form 8-K, including the Exhibits hereto (collectively, this “document”), as “Carnival Corporation & plc,” the “Company,” “our,” “us” and “we.” Some of the statements, estimates or projections contained in this document are “forward-looking statements” that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions with respect to us, including some statements concerning the financing transactions described herein, future results, operations, outlooks, plans, goals, reputation, cash flows, liquidity and other events which have not yet occurred. These statements are intended to qualify for the safe harbors from liability provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical facts are statements that could be deemed forward-looking. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about our business and the industry in which we operate and the beliefs and assumptions of our management. We have tried, whenever possible, to identify these statements by using words like “will,” “may,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “believe,” “depends,” “expect,” “goal,” “aspiration,” “anticipate,” “forecast,” “project,” “future,” “intend,” “plan,” “estimate,” “target,” “indicate,” “outlook,” and similar expressions of future intent or the negative of such terms.
Forward-looking statements include those statements that relate to our outlook and financial position including, but not limited to, statements regarding:
| · Pricing | · Goodwill, ship and trademark fair values | ||
| · Booking levels | · Liquidity and credit ratings | ||
| · Occupancy | · Adjusted earnings per share | ||
| · Interest, tax and fuel expenses | · Return to guest cruise operations | ||
| · Currency exchange rates | · Impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus global pandemic on our financial condition and results of operations | ||
| · Estimates of ship depreciable lives and residual values |
Because forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are many factors that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. This note contains important cautionary statements of the known factors that we consider could materially affect the accuracy of our forward-looking statements and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial position. Additionally, many of these risks and uncertainties are currently amplified by and will continue to be amplified by, or in the future may be amplified by, the COVID-19 outbreak. It is not possible to predict or identify all such risks. There may be additional risks that we consider immaterial or which are unknown. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following:
| · | COVID-19 has had, and is expected to continue to have, a significant impact on our financial condition and operations. The current, and uncertain future, impact of COVID-19, including its effect on the ability or desire of people to travel (including on cruises), is expected to continue to impact our results, operations, outlooks, plans, goals, reputation, litigation, cash flows, liquidity, and stock price; |
| · | events and conditions around the world, including war and other military actions, such as the current invasion of Ukraine, and other general concerns impacting the ability or desire of people to travel have and may lead to a decline in demand for cruises; |
| · | incidents concerning our ships, guests or the cruise vacation industry have in the past and may, in the future, impact the satisfaction of our guests and crew and lead to reputational damage; |
| · | changes in and non-compliance with laws and regulations under which we operate, such as those relating to health, environment, safety and security, data privacy and protection, anti-corruption, economic sanctions, trade protection and tax have in the past and may, in the future, lead to litigation, enforcement actions, fines, penalties and reputational damage; |
| · | factors associated with climate change, including evolving and increasing regulations, increasing global concern about climate change and the shift in climate conscious consumerism and stakeholder scrutiny, and increasing frequency and/or severity of adverse weather conditions could adversely affect our business; |
| · | inability to meet or achieve our sustainability related goals, aspirations, initiatives, and our public statements and disclosures regarding them, may expose us to risks that may adversely impact our business; |
| · | breaches in data security and lapses in data privacy as well as disruptions and other damages to our principal offices, information technology operations and system networks and failure to keep pace with developments in technology may adversely impact our business operations, the satisfaction of our guests and crew and may lead to reputational damage; |
| · | the loss of key employees, our inability to recruit or retain qualified shoreside and shipboard employees and increased labor costs could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations; |
| · | increases in fuel prices, changes in the types of fuel consumed and availability of fuel supply may adversely impact our scheduled itineraries and costs; |
| · | we rely on supply chain vendors who are integral to the operations of our businesses. These vendors and service providers are also affected by COVID-19 and may be unable to deliver on their commitments which could impact our business; |
| · | fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates may adversely impact our financial results; |
| · | overcapacity and competition in the cruise and land-based vacation industry may lead to a decline in our cruise sales, pricing and destination options; |
| · | inability to implement our shipbuilding programs and ship repairs, maintenance and refurbishments may adversely impact our business operations and the satisfaction of our guests; and |
| · | the risk factors included in Carnival Corporation’s and Carnival plc’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on January 27, 2022 and Carnival Corporation’s and Carnival plc’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on March 28, 2022. |
The ordering of the risk factors set forth above is not intended to reflect our indication of priority or likelihood.
Forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a prediction of actual results. Subject to any continuing obligations under applicable law or any relevant stock exchange rules, we expressly disclaim any obligation to disseminate, after the date of this document, any updates or revisions to any such forward-looking statements to reflect any change in expectations or events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based. Forward-looking and other statements in this document may also address our sustainability progress, plans, and goals (including climate change and environmental-related matters). In addition, historical, current, and forward-looking sustainability-related statements may be based on standards for measuring progress that are still developing, internal controls and processes that continue to evolve, and assumptions that are subject to change in the future.
| Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
(d) Exhibits
| Exhibit No. | Description | |
| 10.1 | Indenture dated as of May 25, 2022, among Carnival Corporation, as issuer, Carnival plc, the other Guarantors party hereto and U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as trustee, principal paying agent, transfer agent, registrar and security agent, relating to the 10.500% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2030. | |
| 99.1 | Press release of Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc dated May 25, 2022 (relating to the closing of the Senior Unsecured Notes). | |
| 104 | Exhibit 104 Cover page from this Current Report on Form 8-K, formatted in Inline XBRL (included as Exhibit 101). |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each of the registrants has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| CARNIVAL CORPORATION | CARNIVAL PLC | |||
| By: | /s/ David Bernstein | By: | /s/ David Bernstein | |
| Name: | David Bernstein | Name: | David Bernstein | |
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer | Title: | Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer | |
Date: May 25, 2022 | Date: May 25, 2022 | |||