Online travel group Travelzest has initiated a formal sale process after receiving a takeover approach from two senior directors.
Directors lodge interest as Travelzest is put up for sale
Online travel group Travelzest has initiated a formal sale process after receiving a takeover approach from two senior directors.
Chief executive Jonathan Carroll and chief financial officer Adrian Cobbold have lodged a preliminary expression of interest in acquiring the company.
Independent directors Nigel Jenkins, Mark Molyneux and Richard Hall have decided to conduct a formal sale process “in order to explore this and any further potential expressions of interest”.
A company statement said: “While the independent directors believe that the company has a future as an independent business, it recognises that there may be other individuals and businesses which are better placed to build on its strong Canadian trading businesses.”
The sale process has been started “in order to seek to unlock and crystallise shareholder value, through which the company might also be able to offer more opportunities for its employees and other stakeholders”.
The decision opened the door for other potential bids with Travelzest recruiting HW Corporate Finance to manage the formal sale process.
Any interested party will be required to enter into a non-disclosure agreement before being permitted to participate in the process, the company said.
“Travelzest intends to release a summary financial overview shortly to all participants who have entered into such non-disclosure agreements with the company. It is intended that any participant who is taken forward to the next phase of the formal sale process will be given access to a data room and management presentations.”
No timetable was given for the potential sale or a company valuation given.
Opera specialist JMB Travel was recently sold back by Travelzest to its former owners Jonathan Blizard and long-term business partner David Kiernan. Blizard previously sold JMB to TravelZest in 2007.
Travelzest has travel retail operations in the UK and Canada and tour operations covering countries including France, Cuba, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco and Turkey. ??
