Wotif bids for online travel firm
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
The offer is better than the A $42.3 million offer from Internet ticketing company Webjet, Herald Sun reported.
Travel.com managing director Adam Johnson said the company would consider Wotif’s offer and provide further guidance to shareholders after it assessed the bid. Travel.com has a market capitalisation of about A$60 million, the report said.
Wotif, which carved itself an A$1 billion-plus niche market by offering discounted hotel rooms to last-minute bargain hunters, said that its offer would considerably expand TVL’s accommodation choice.
“We see great benefits in combining the two companies. Wotif has access to about 4500 accommodation listings while TVL operates in a different space offering a total package of flights, car hire and a choice of 1,500 hotels,” Wotif Chief Operating Officer Robbie Cooke was quoted saying in an Australian report.
Cooke said the proposed offer for Travel.com marked the start of the consolidation of the online travel business. “We’ve already seen it happen in the UK and the US,” he was quoted saying.
“The local market is ripe for consolidation as it offers economies of scale. The online travel market is one of the most competitive industries I’ve worked in.”
Comments are closed.