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While it is encountering headwinds <\/b>in the fashion business of its luxury group Kering<\/b>, the Pinault family is setting its sights on cruises<\/b>.<\/p>\n
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Owned by its family-owned private investment company, Groupe Artemis, the Ponant Explorations<\/b> group announced in mid-January that it had acquired a majority stake in Aqua Expeditions.<\/b><\/p>\n
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For Ponant Explorations, which claims to be the world leader in luxury expedition cruises<\/b> in the small ship segment (less than 500 passengers), this choice is very much in line with its DNA.<\/p>\n
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Founded in 2007 by Peruvian Francesco Galli Zugaro,<\/b> who will remain a shareholder and continue to manage the brand, Aqua is<\/b> in fact \u201can award-winning small ship expedition company renowned for its exceptional river and ocean cruises in South America, Southeast Asia<\/b> and beyond,\u201d Ponant explains in a press release.<\/p>\n
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When interviewed by the Bloomberg<\/b> agency, Herv\u00e9 Gastinel, CEO of the Ponant Explorations Group, revealed that he had also been interested in buying out Hurtigruten Expeditions<\/b>, before throwing in the towel due to the excessive size of the company’s five ships.<\/p>\n
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Aqua Expeditions<\/b>, on the other hand, is similar to the Ponant model<\/b>, but also complements it with very different destinations<\/b>. The 13 Ponant ships<\/b> explore regions of extreme cold, in the Arctic and Antarctic<\/b>. Even if it is also starting to turn to milder shores. Launched in the spring of 2024, the Spirit of Ponant, its latest<\/b> and first six-cabin catamaran, will transport its passengers to Corsica and the Seychelles.<\/b><\/p>\n
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