Two of the tourism industry's greats in Fiji have come together today in a deal between Fiji Holdings Limited (FHL) an investment company and South Sea Cruises. FHL owners of Blue Lagoon Cruises, the pioneers of small ship cruising in Fiji have sold it to South Sea Cruises and then in turn purchased the new larger South Sea Cruises.

The deal sees three iconic brands - Blue Lagoon, South Sea Cruises and Awesome Adventures come together in the one business. The current owners of South Sea Cruises, Roger Dold and Chris Jacobs have entered into a long term management agreement with FHL to continue to run and develop these businesses. In most ways it will be business as usual but the company has exciting plans for re-invigorating Blue Lagoon Cruises.

"The deal is a great one for Fiji and for us" says Roger Dold. "We are delighted that the business is going into Fijian ownership and that through FHL the people of Fiji will benefit from its success. And we still get to manage the business and take it forward in a country we love being involved in."

Acting CEO of FHL Nouzab Fareed said he was proud to have brought this deal to fruition. "This is a large but exciting investment opportunity for FHL and it is indicative of the confidence we have in the future of tourism in Fiji. To be able to put Blue Lagoon into the group and then have it managed by acknowledged experts in their field is smart business for us. FHL is a listed company on the South Pacific Stock Exchange and its investors are primarily the people of Fiji. It is a wonderful thing for them to own this business which is a key player in Fiji's tourism industry, particularly to the islands of the Mamanucas and the Yasawas."

South Sea Cruises has been a member of the Marine Tourism Holdings Group and it has a network of Sales Executives and representation agreements around the world. Blue Lagoon will now become part of that portfolio and benefit from the experience and strong industry relationships that the company has forged over the years. "There are a great many synergies between the businesses that we look forward to developing. Blue Lagoon is a very, very good fit with our existing Fiji business", says Chris Jacobs. "We will come out to industry with more information as required but for now Blue Lagoon will continue to operate its cruises to the Yasawas as brochured. We will ensure a smooth transition in anything we do and we are pretty sure the industry and consumers will love what is to come."