Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Morgan Stanley & Co LLC to repurchase $200 million of the company’s common stock under an accelerated stock repurchase (ASR) transaction.  

Pursuant to the terms of the ASR agreement, the number of shares to be repurchased and the aggregate cost per share to Royal Caribbean will be based on the volume-weighted average share price of the common stock during the term of the transaction, less a discount.

The company will receive a majority of the shares to be repurchased upfront based on current market prices, with final settlement of the transaction expected to take place by the end of January 2016.

The ASR transaction is being executed as part of an authorization by the company’s Board of Directors to repurchase up to $500 million of common stock, announced earlier today.  After the completion of the ASR, $300 million remains under the share repurchase authorization.