Lindblad Expeditions, an adventure travel company known for its Alaska and Galapagos Island cruises, agreed to raise $85 million in convertible preferred stock from an investor group that includes MSD Partners and Durable Capital.
Why it matters: The deal came together in just two days and was 3x oversubscribed, Lindblad chairman Mark Ein tells Axios. This reflects growing investor faith that the travel market is poised for a COVID comeback, with pent-up demand only continuing to grow.
Other investors in the deal include Headlands Capital, Deep Field Asset Management, and Declaration Capital.
The bottom line: Ein says the new investment gives Lindblad runway to survive through the end of 2021, even were it not to launch a single cruise, but adds that it's been working on a coronavirus testing plan (both pre-travel and on-site) that it hopes will let it resume operations much sooner.
