Ponant to Acquire Paul Gauguin Cruises

Luxury expedition cruise company Ponant announced today that it is acquiring Paul Gauguin Cruises, the French Polynesia and South Pacific specialist cruise line. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

According to a release from Ponant, the two cruise lines will keep separate management—with Diane Moore acting as CEO of Paul Gauguin at their office in Bellevue, Wash. and Navin Sawhney continuing to lead as CEO of Ponant in New York.

The acquisition will give Ponant guests a wider range of destinations and will allow the combined company to boast a larger fleet with Ponant combining its fleet of nine with Paul Gauguin’s single ship, called Paul Gauguin.

 “PONANT is proud to be at the forefront of small ship exploration. We are expanding our PONANT fleet to 14 ships by 2021. Now, through PAUL GAUGUIN and its expertise, we will be able to offer our clients and partners yet another bucket list destination visiting the exotic islands of Tahiti, French Polynesia and the South Pacific,” Sawhney said in a statement.

“As we join the PONANT family, we remain dedicated to our shared passion for authentic experiences, high quality service and sustainable practices. We are excited about introducing our guests to the wider world of PONANT and to welcoming PONANT guests on board PAUL GAUGUIN,” said Moore.

In June, Ponant took delivery of its fourth explorer series ship, Le Dumont-d’Urville, which kicked off its inaugural season this week. The ship is the ninth ship overall for Ponant, which is in the midst of a growth period that will see the line grow to a total of 12 ships and 460 departures by 2021.

Aside from the Explorer Series, the last two of which will arrive in 2020 (Le Bellot and Le Surville). Ponant has also recently added Icebreaker Ships, including Le Commandant Charcot that will arrive in 2021.