Travelport acquires majority stake in German distribution firm travel-IT

Travelport acquires majority stake in German distribution firm travel-IT

Travelport has acquired a majority stake in leading German tour operator distribution company, travel-IT, for an undisclosed sum.

Travelport has acquired a majority stake in leading German tour operator distribution company, travel-IT, for an undisclosed sum.

The strategic investment will significantly increase Travelport’s presence and reach in the German leisure travel industry, which at approximately €26 billion, is Europe’s largest.

Travelport’s participation in equity of travel-IT was part of a wider transaction which also saw some of the leading German tour operators also investing.

A substantial portion of the leisure travel sector in Germany is comprised of operators offering their content, either on a pre-packaged or dynamically packaged basis.

Travel-IT provides a platform enabling the real time offer, search and booking of unique content from all major operators serving Germany, to consumers who purchase from travel retailers.

Michael Kalt, chief executive of travel-IT, said: “Travelport is bringing with it real innovation that will transform our business for the long term.

“The investment marks a new milestone for our company and will increase revenue and growth for travel-IT and its partners.

“We plan to shake up the leisure sector and bring increased choice, flexibility and efficiency to tour operators, travel agencies and consumers.”

Juergen Witte, Travelport’s managing director in Germany and Switzerland and managing director of travel-IT, said: “This is an exciting investment for Travelport. It will allow us to offer a full range of product and content for the largest economy in Europe, to both traditional and on-line retail travel agencies, supported by several of the leading tour operators in Germany.

“Travel-IT offers some significant innovations to both travel agencies and tour operators which make the distribution and sale of leisure travel products better than older incumbent offerings.”

Travelport president and chief executive Gordon Wilson added: “The announcement today rounds off a year that has seen a number of important strategic investments for Travelport in our Travel Commerce Platform.

“We have expanded our Beyond Air capabilities in the payments, corporate travel and hotel distribution areas with our increased investment in eNett, our investment into Locomote and our acquisition of Hotelzon respectively.

“This latest tuck-in investment in travel-IT for Germany is consistent with our strategy to address the previously un-met needs of our customers and to redefine travel commerce using newer and better technology to enable unrivalled access to travel content through empowered selling systems.”