A unit of Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz’s Anschutz Corp. won a bankruptcy auction for virtually all the assets of Ambassadors International, operator of Windstar Cruises, with an offer of about $39 million.
The Seattle-based company selected TAC Cruise’s cash offer, which also includes taking on certain liabilities, as the winning bid after conducting a two-day auction that started Monday, according to court papers filed Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.
Kristopher Hansen, a lawyer representing Ambassadors, wasn’t immediately available to respond to a phone call seeking comment.
Ambassadors operates Windstar’s three-ship luxury yacht fleet, which shuttles patrons to “the hidden harbors and secluded coves of the world’s most sought-after destinations,” according to a company statement. The ships carry 148 to 312 passengers to 50 nations in Europe, the Caribbean and the Americas.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross is scheduled to consider approving the sale at a hearing set for today.
Ambassadors entered bankruptcy with an agreement to sell substantially all its assets to its lender Whippoorwill Associates.
The Whippoorwill offer would have forgiven debt and assumed other liabilities in exchange for the assets, which the company valued at about $40 million, court papers show. White Plains, N.Y.-based Whippoorwill is Ambassadors’ secured lender and largest shareholder, with about 22 percent of the company’s equity.
