NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., April 25 - Ambassadors International, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMIE) (the "Company") announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ambassadors Cruise Group, LLC has acquired the first preferred ship mortgage on the vessel, Columbia Queen, from the United States of America acting through the U.S. Department of Transportation. The first mortgage on the Columbia Queen is for approximately $9 million of fixed-rate, 6.00% debt payable through 2015. The Company has not acquired the ownership rights to the Columbia Queen.
Joe Ueberroth, President and CEO of the Company, stated, "We believe that our purchase of this first preferred ship mortgage for $5 million is a sound and attractive investment for our Company. The Columbia Queen is an excellent vessel that has operated cruises in the Pacific Northwest with itineraries similar to those we offer on our Queen of the West vessel."
About Ambassadors International, Inc.
Ambassadors International, Inc. is a cruise, marine, insurance and travel and event company. The Company operates American West Cruises, one of North America's premier river and coastal cruising companies. The Company also provides travel and event services for corporations, associations and tradeshows through its Ambassadors, LLC subsidiary. In addition, it operates BellPort Group, Inc., an international marine company, and participates in selective reinsurance programs through its specialty reinsurance subsidiary, Cypress Reinsurance, Ltd. The Company is headquartered in Newport Beach, California. In this press release, any reference to "Company," "Ambassadors," "management," "we," "us" and "our" refers to Ambassadors International, Inc. and its management team.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are based on our current expectations and entail various risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those suggested in our forward-looking statements. We believe that such risks and uncertainties include, among others, general economic financial and business conditions, overall conditions in the cruise, travel and insurance markets, potential claims related to our reinsurance business, further declines in the fair market value of our investments, our ability to collect principal and interest on the acquired first preferred ship mortgage from the obligee, lower investment yields, our ability to successfully integrate the operations of companies or businesses we acquire and realize the expected benefits of our acquisitions, our ability to successfully and efficiently operate the businesses that we acquire, our ability to compete effectively in the U.S. cruise market, our ability to service our debt and other factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005. We are providing this information as of the date of this release and do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Additional Information
Please contact Brian Schaefgen of Ambassadors International, Inc.: (949) 759-5900
