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WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — American mayors are rallying behind President-elect Biden’s new plan to end the pandemic and save the American economy by providing direct fiscal relief to all cities— large, medium, and small—and boosting support for America’s vaccination program. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage communities and cause economic suffering, the president-elect has put forward a comprehensive package of relief measures that includes $350 billion in direct aid to state and local governments. And today, 284 mayors – Republicans, Democrats and Independents, from cities large and small – have written to congressional leaders urging them to take action.

American cities have been crushed by the pandemic with revenues disappearing almost overnight and cuts to critical services and jobs. Yet Congress and the outgoing administration have provided almost no fiscal support to cities, prolonging the pandemic’s economic fallout and causing real pain for city workers and residents. With his new plan, President-elect Biden recognizes that direct, flexible relief to cities is critical to saving the jobs of teachers, cops, first responders, and other essential workers. That’s why a bipartisan group of mayors from the U.S. Conference of Mayors is writing to stress the need for relief to go directly to local governments. Mayors are also expressing support for the president-elect’s plan for additional resources to boost vaccinations in America. The letter, in part, reads:

«[W]ith few exceptions, cities have been largely left without direct federal assistance. The lack of adequate support has resulted in budget cuts, service reductions, and job losses. Sadly, nearly one million local government jobs have already been lost during the pandemic. Our essential workers deserve federal relief like any other sector.

«The $350 billion in direct relief to state and local governments included in President-elect Biden’s American Rescue Plan would allow cities to preserve critical public sector jobs and help drive our economic recovery. Providing direct, flexible aid to cities is the most efficient and immediate way to help families and their communities who have been suffering for far too long.

«Furthermore, cities must be central to a deliberate strategy to accelerate vaccinations throughout the country. We support President-elect Biden’s proposal to mount a national vaccination program and the provision of additional resources to cities to bolster our efforts to contain the spread of the virus.

«Your quick action on President-elect Biden’s plan is a crucial step to making meaningful progress in one of the most challenging moments in our country’s history. The United States Conference of Mayors is eager to work with Congress and the incoming Administration to meet this challenge. We encourage you to take up the President-elect’s rescue plan as soon as possible in the 117th Congress.»

Read the text of the full letter here.

About The United States Conference of Mayors — The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are nearly 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/usmayors, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/usmayors.

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SOURCE U.S. Conference of Mayors

MIAMI, Jan. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL) today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Azamara brand to Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm specializing in consumer, retail and distribution investments, in an all-cash carve-out transaction for $201 million, subject to certain adjustments and closing conditions. Sycamore Partners will acquire the entire Azamara brand, including its three-ship fleet and associated intellectual property. The transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.

Royal Caribbean Group noted the transaction allows it to focus on expanding its Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea brands.

«Our strategy has evolved into placing more of our resources behind three global brands, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea, and working to grow them as we emerge from this unprecedented period,» said Richard D. Fain, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Royal Caribbean Group. «Even so, Azamara remains a strong brand with its own tremendous potential for growth, and Sycamore’s track record demonstrates that they will be good stewards of what the Azamara team has built over the past 13 years.»

«We are pleased that Royal Caribbean Group has entrusted Sycamore to support Azamara in its next phase of growth,» said Stefan Kaluzny, Managing Director of Sycamore Partners.  «We are excited to partner with the Azamara team and build on their many years of success serving the brand’s loyal customers.  We believe Azamara will remain a top choice for discerning travelers as the cruising industry recovers over time.»

Azamara’s value proposition and operations will remain consistent under the new arrangement, and Royal Caribbean Group will work in close collaboration on a seamless transition for Azamara employees, customers and other stakeholders. In conjunction with the transaction, Azamara Chief Operating Officer Carol Cabezas has been appointed President of the brand.

The transaction will result in a one-time, non-cash impairment charge of approximately $170 million. The sale of Azamara is not expected to have a material impact on Royal Caribbean Group’s future financial results.

Perella Weinberg Partners LP served as financial advisor to Royal Caribbean Group and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP provided legal counsel. Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided legal advice to Sycamore Partners. 

About Royal Caribbean Group 
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., doing business as Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL), is a cruise vacation company that owns four global brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara and Silversea.  Royal Caribbean Group is also a 50% owner of a joint venture that operates TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. Together, our brands operate 61 ships with an additional 15 on order as of December 21, 2021.  Learn more at www.rclcorporate.com or www.rclinvestor.com. 

About Sycamore Partners 
Sycamore Partners is a private equity firm based in New York. The firm specializes in consumer, distribution and retail-related investments and partners with management teams to improve the operating profitability and strategic value of their business. With approximately $10 billion in aggregate committed capital raised since its inception in 2011, Sycamore Partners’ investors include leading endowments, financial institutions, family offices, pension plans and sovereign wealth funds. For more information on Sycamore Partners, visit www.sycamorepartners.com. 

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this release relating to, among other things, our future performance estimates, forecasts and projections constitute forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These statements include, but are not limited to: statements regarding revenues, costs and financial results for 2020 and beyond.  Words such as «anticipate,» «believe,» «could,» «driving,» «estimate,» «expect,» «goal,» «intend,» «look into,» «may,» «plan,» «project,» «seek,» «should,» «will,» «would,» «considering», and similar expressions are intended to help identify forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements reflect management’s current expectations, are based on judgments, are inherently uncertain and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in those forward-looking statements.  Examples of these risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to the following: the impact of the global incidence and spread of COVID-19, which has led to the temporary suspension of our operations and has had and will continue to have a material adverse impact on our business, liquidity and results of operations, or other contagious illnesses on economic conditions and the travel industry in general and the financial position and operating results of our Company in particular, such as: the current and potential additional governmental and self-imposed travel restrictions, the current and potential extension of the suspension of cruises and new additional suspensions, guest cancellations; our ability to obtain sufficient financing, capital or revenues to satisfy liquidity needs, capital expenditures, debt repayments and other financing needs; the effectiveness of the actions we have taken to improve and address our liquidity needs; the impact of the economic and geopolitical environment on key aspects of our business, such as the demand for cruises, passenger spending, and operating costs; incidents or adverse publicity concerning our ships, port facilities, land destinations and/or passengers or the cruise vacation industry in general; our ability to accurately estimate our monthly cash burn rate during the suspension of our operations; concerns over safety, health and security of guests and crew; any protocols we adopt across our fleet relating to COVID-19, such as those recommended by the Healthy Sail Panel, may be costly and less effective than we expect in reducing the risk of infection and spread of COVID-19 on our cruise ships; further impairments of our goodwill, long-lived assets, equity investments and notes receivable; an inability to source our crew or our provisions and supplies from certain places; the incurrence of COVID-19 and other contagious diseases on our ships and an increase in concern about the risk of illness on our ships or when traveling to or from our ships, all of which reduces demand; unavailability of ports of call; growing anti-tourism sentiments and environmental concerns; changes in US foreign travel policy; the uncertainties of conducting business internationally and expanding into new markets and new ventures; our ability to recruit, develop and retain high quality personnel; changes in operating and financing costs; our indebtedness, any additional indebtedness we may incur and restrictions in the agreements governing our indebtedness that limit our flexibility in operating our business, including the significant portion of assets that are collateral under these agreements; the impact of foreign currency exchange rates, interest rate and fuel price fluctuations; the settlement of conversions of our convertible notes, if any, in shares of our common stock or a combination of cash and shares of our common stock, which may result in substantial dilution for our existing shareholders; our expectation that we will not declare or pay dividends on our common stock for the near future; vacation industry competition and changes in industry capacity and overcapacity; the risks and costs associated with protecting our systems and maintaining integrity and security of our business information, as well as personal data of our guests, employees and others;  the impact of new or changing legislation and regulations or governmental orders on our business; pending or threatened litigation, investigations and enforcement actions; the effects of weather, natural disasters and seasonality on our business; emergency ship repairs, including the related lost revenue; the impact of issues at shipyards, including ship delivery delays, ship cancellations or ship construction cost increases; shipyard unavailability; the unavailability or cost of air service; and uncertainties of a foreign legal system as we are not incorporated in the United States.

In addition, many of these risks and uncertainties are currently heightened by and will continue to be heightened by, or in the future may be heightened by, the COVID-19 pandemic. It is not possible to predict or identify all such risks.

More information about factors that could affect our operating results is included under the caption «Risk Factors» in our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q, as well as our other filings with the SEC, and the captions «Risk Factors» and «Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations» in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K, as updated by our Current Report on Form 8-K dated May 13, 2020, copies of which may be obtained by visiting our Investor Relations website at www.rclinvestor.com or the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements in this release, which are based on information available to us on the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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SOURCE Royal Caribbean Group

CORK, Ireland, Jan. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI), the global leader for smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, today announced that its chairman and CEO George Oliver has been chosen by the Business Roundtable Chairman Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Walmart,  to serve as chair of the organization’s Energy & Environment Committee.

Business Roundtable is an association of chief executive officers of America’s leading companies. Through research and advocacy, Business Roundtable supports policies to spur job creation, improve U.S. competitiveness and strengthen the economy. Its Energy & Environment Committee is dedicated to advancing policies that encourage innovation and support an environmentally and economically sustainable future.

As the incoming Biden administration prepares to put clean energy at the heart of the U.S. economic recovery, such business-led initiatives will be key in helping the new administration meet its proposed goals.

«I am honored to be selected as Chair of the Energy & Environment Committee and look forward to working with my fellow CEOs to support policies that preserve our environment and maximize our energy options,» said George Oliver, chairman and CEO. «Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the planet today. Business Roundtable believes that businesses are an essential part of the solution and calls for collective action and policies to drive innovation, significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit global temperature rise.»

The next decade is crucial in the shift to a sustainable economy. With its team of 100,000 employees Johnson Controls is committed to playing a meaningful role in helping the transition to a safe, sustainable, low-carbon world. This new position for Oliver highlights that ongoing commitment.

In December 2020 Johnson Controls received an A- climate change Leadership band score from CDP, in recognition of its actions to reduce emissions and mitigate climate change in the past reporting year as well as an A score for its risk disclosure and governance.  

Sustainability is an integral part of Johnson Controls vision and values. Since signing the United Nations Global Compact in 2004, the company has remained fully committed to aligning its operations and strategies with the U.N. Global Compact’s Ten Principles. Under Oliver’s leadership, Johnson Controls continues to have a distinguished track record in sustainability. The company recently launched its inaugural green bond in the US and was named to the World’s Most Ethical Companies® Honoree List and as one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens.

To read more about Johnson Controls commitment and accomplishments around sustainability, please visit: https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/corporate-sustainability/environment

About Johnson Controls:
At Johnson Controls, we transform the environments where people live, work, learn and play. From optimizing building performance to improving safety and enhancing comfort, we drive the outcomes that matter most. We deliver our promise in industries such as healthcare, education, data centers and manufacturing. With a global team of 100,000 experts in more than 150 countries and over 130 years of innovation, we are the power behind our customers’ mission. Our leading portfolio of building technology and solutions includes some of the most trusted names in the industry, such as Tyco®, YORK®, Metasys®, Ruskin®, Titus®, Frick®, Penn®, Sabroe®, Simplex®, Ansul® and Grinnell®. For more information, visit www.johnsoncontrols.com or follow us @johnsoncontrols on Twitter.

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SOURCE Johnson Controls International plc