Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, the world's third largest cruise operator, is acquiring Prestige Cruises International for $3.025 billion in cash and stock.
Norwegian Cruise announced the deal Tuesday morning.
The deal would give Norwegian Cruise, a company with a market value of $6.8 billion, access to Prestige Cruises' luxury cruise ships and affluent clientele as it competes with bigger rivals Royal Caribbean Cruises and Carnival.
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"Our complementary strengths and skill sets will pave the way for new cross-selling opportunities, cross-brand collaboration, cross-business support, as well as joint partnerships which, coupled with meaningful synergies that can be quickly implemented, will provide solid accretion to earnings per share and drive long-term shareholder value," Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line's chief executive officer, said in a statement.
The announcement said Frank Del Rio will remain chief executive officer of Prestige, which operates eight ships and about 6,500 berths under two brands—Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
"We are excited to become part of the Norwegian family and start a new chapter for our company," Del Rio said.
The owner of Prestige Cruises, private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC, also owns a 20 percent stake in Norwegian Cruise.
The $29 billion cruise industry is expected to benefit in the coming years from the rise of the middle class in emerging economies such as China and India. Companies are racing to position themselves as the cruise operators of choice for these new customers.
—By CNBC.com with Reuters.