The IPO of cruise operator Viking exceeded all expectations. He is a symbol of an industry that is booming like never before.
May 3, 2024, 6:28 p.m
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Norwegian entrepreneur and founder of Viking Cruises, Torstein Hagen, has become a multi-billionaire thanks to his company’s stock market debut. In 1997 he founded the cruise line, which was aimed at a wealthy, culturally interested clientele without children. The concept was successful and the demand for shares was so great that the issue price had to rise. Viking Cruises reached a market valuation of over $11 billion at the close of trading. Despite the huge losses during the pandemic, the cruise industry recovered quickly and interest in luxury cruises has increased since then. Viking Cruises currently has a fleet of 92 ships and offers voyages to a variety of locations, from river cruises in Europe to the Mississippi and Nile to the North and South Poles. Most customers come from North America. Despite rising fuel and labor costs, the mood in the industry remains positive. Issues such as the industry’s poor environmental record were overshadowed by passengers.
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Note The cruise ship Viking Sea in the port of Mugla in southwest Turkey © Ali Balli/Anadolu Agency/Abacapress/ddp images
When Torstein Hagen founded his cruise line in 1997, the Norwegian had a clear target group in mind. The clientele should be wealthy and culturally interested, said the founder of Viking Cruises: “Thinking man” instead of “drinking man“, as he once summarized it in reference to the competition. But above all: no children on board. The 81-year-old Norwegian came up with the concept made a multi-billionaire this week. And caused a surprise on Wall Street. The second-largest debut on the New York Stock Exchange so far this year (after sportswear brand Arc’teryx) was not a digital start-up, not an AI pioneer – but Hagen’s Viking Cruises.