Bravofly completes purchase of group’s new main brand lastminute.com

Swiss-based OTA Bravofly Rumbo Group today completed the acquisition of lastminute.com from Sabre Corporation.

Swiss-based OTA Bravofly Rumbo Group today completed the acquisition of lastminute.com from Sabre Corporation.

Finalisation of the deal for around £75 million, announced in December, follows an employee information and consultation process with its 1,272 staff.

Bravofly Rumbo has acquired all of lastminute.com’s global operations covering the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.

The deal means that the group’s gross travel value reaches €2.5 billion, with revenues of nearly €260 million.

Lastminute.com had revenues of €110 million last year with 55% of its business coming from the UK, 25% from France, 12% from Germany and 5% from Spain.

Bravofly Rumbo is to provide further details of its long-term integration plans and respective group targets when it releases 2014 results on March 26.

Company chairman Fabio Cannavale said: “We are at the beginning of a new, exciting and unconventional phase in which we have the opportunity to build a long-lasting, successful business story.

“Lastminute.com’s iconic and extremely popular brand combined with our capability to execute, is a cornerstone that will empower our teams to do their best, be spontaneous and achieve our ambitious target to be the unconventional leader of the European market with €5 billion gross travel value in 2020.

“We will seek to boost robust topline revenue growth by making relevant investments in online and offline marketing and advertising around Europe, to position lastminute.com as the group’s main brand, as well as supporting our historical brands by re-styling and focusing them on vertical markets.

“At the same time we will work hard to integrate our businesses, creating scalable and efficient structures which generate sustainable value in the mid to long term. I’m really proud to be part of this story and I know our people are excited to start.”