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Lindblad Expeditions to start trading on the NASDAQLindblad Expeditions to start trading on the NASDAQ

Lindblad Expeditions expects to begin trading on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol LIND on or about July 9.

Anne Kalosh, Editor, Seatrade Cruise News & Senior Associate Editor, Seatrade Cruise Review

July 8, 2015

1 Min Read
Credit: Seatrade Cruise News

The expedition cruise operator merged with Capitol Acquisition Corp. II, a public investment vehicle, and has been renamed Lindblad Expeditions Holdings.

'We are excited to have closed our merger with Lindblad,' Capitol chairman and ceo Mark Ein said Wednesday. With its well-established brand, long-term National Geographic partnership, and track record of growth, 'Lindblad is exactly the kind of compelling long-term investment opportunity that we were looking for,' he added.

'Completing the merger with Capitol and entering the public markets represents an important and exciting milestone for us,' Sven-Olof Lindblad said. The funds raised, together with recent debt financing, give the resources to expand the fleet and opportunistically seek strategic acquisitions, he said.

With the closing of the merger, Ein became chairman and Sven-Olof Lindblad ceo. They are directors, along with L. Dyson Dryden, cfo of Capitol; John Fahey, chairman of the National Geographic Society; and Paul Brown, ceo of Arby's Restaurant Group.

Lindblad currently fields six vessels—National Geographic Orion, National Geographic Explorer, National Geographic Endeavour, National Geographic Islander, National Geographic Sea Lion and National Geographic Sea Bird—and operates charters on four other vessels, including Sea Cloud.

When plans for the merger and public offering were announced in March, Ein said at least two new vessels would be built for the company.

Citigroup Global Markets and Deutsche Bank Securities acted as capital markets advisers for the transaction. Latham & Watkins and Graubard Miller advised Capitol. Foley & Lardner and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom advised Lindblad.

About the Author

Anne Kalosh

Editor, Seatrade Cruise News & Senior Associate Editor, Seatrade Cruise Review

Anne Kalosh covers global stories, reporting both breaking and in-depth news on cruising's significant people, places, ships and trends. A sought-after expert on cruising, she has moderated conferences around the world, including the high-profile State of the Industry panel at Seatrade Cruise Global. She created and led the acclaimed itinerary-planning case study for Seatrade's cruise master classes held at Cambridge and Oxford universities. She has been the cruise columnist for AFAR.com, and her freelance stories have appeared in a wide range of publications, from The New York Times to The Miami Herald.

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