SOUTHLAKE, Texas and
AMSTERDAM, March 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Sabre
Corporation (NASDAQ:SABR) and Bravofly Rumbo Group (SIX: BRG)
announced today that Bravofly Rumbo Group has completed the
acquisition of lastminute.com, following its binding offer for the
business in December 2014 and
fulfillment of the employee information and consultation
process.
With this transaction Bravofly Rumbo Group acquires all of
lastminute.com's global operations located in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy, establishing a leading position in all
major European countries. Together with lastminute.com, Bravofly
Rumbo Group's 2014 pro-forma Gross Travel Value reached
approximately €2.5 billion, with revenues of nearly €260 million,
leveraging its excellent business fit and well balanced
geographical distribution. The transaction has no material effect
on Bravofly Rumbo Group's net cash position.
The decision to sell lastminute.com supports Sabre's strategy to
increase its focus and investment on its core businesses - Travel
Network and Airline and Hospitality Solutions - which collectively
serve airlines, hotels, travel agencies and travel suppliers
globally. Sabre remains a key provider of services to the global
consumer online travel sector, handling over a third of the world's
travel agency transactions.
For Bravofly Rumbo Group, the acquisition fulfills its mission
to be a Smart Travel Provider, simplifying the life of travellers
and accelerating the growth of its global footprint and its
portfolio of solutions.
Fabio Cannavale, chairman of
Bravofly Rumbo Group, 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 GTV 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."
Bravofly Rumbo Group will communicate further details of its
long-term integration roadmap and respective Group targets in its
FY2014 earnings data, scheduled for release on March 26th, 2015.
Key data
lastminute.com
– FY2014E
|
Revenues
|
Approx. €110
million
|
Geographical
distribution
|
Europe
100%
|
whereas UK 55%,
France 25%, Germany 12%, Spain 5%, Italy 3%
|
Business
breakdown
|
Flights 20%, Hotel
Vacation & Leisure 65%, Other 15%
|
Combined Group –
FY2014E
|
Headcount
|
1,275
employees
|
Websites
managed
|
More than
100
|
Countries where
Bravofly Rumbo Group operates
|
More than
35
|
Travellers
handled
|
More than 10
million
|
About Sabre Corporation
Sabre® Corporation
is a leading technology provider to the global travel and tourism
industry. Sabre's software, data, mobile and distribution solutions
are used by hundreds of airlines and thousands of hotel properties
to manage critical operations, including passenger and guest
reservations, revenue management, flight, network and crew
management. Sabre also operates a leading global travel
marketplace, which processes more than $110
billion of estimated travel spend annually by connecting
travel buyers and suppliers. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, USA, Sabre operates offices
in approximately 60 countries around the world.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements in this release regarding Sabre that are not
historical or current facts are forward-looking statements. Such
forward-looking statements convey Sabre's current expectations or
forecasts of future events. Forward-looking statements regarding
Sabre involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors that may cause Sabre's actual results, performance or
achievements to be materially different from any future results,
performances or achievements expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements. Certain of these risks and
uncertainties are described in the "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" sections of Sabre's
registration statement on Form S-1, the "Risk Factors" and
"Forward-Looking Statements" sections of its Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q, and any of Sabre's other applicable filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Unless required by law, Sabre
undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events after
the date of this press release.
About Bravofly Rumbo Group
Bravofly Rumbo Group is an
online travel agency, or OTA, with a strong presence in
Europe. Its web and mobile
platforms enable consumers to easily search for, compare and book
flights with both traditional airlines and low cost carriers, as
well as hotel accommodation, package holidays, cruises, rental cars
and other travel-related products and services. The Group traces
its roots to 2004, with the launch of Volagratis, a pioneer search
engine for low cost flights in the Italian market. Today it
operates websites in 15 languages and localized for more than 35
countries. Its core markets are Italy, Spain
and France. The Bravofly Rumbo
Group is strengthening its position in other European markets and
expanding to untapped markets in selected Asian Pacific and Latin
American countries. The Group operates under a number of key
brands, including Bravofly, Rumbo, Volagratis, Jetcost,
Crocierissime and Bravoavia. With more than 4.5 million
passengers handled per year, Bravofly Rumbo Group complements its
online offer with customer service support in 13 languages.
Bravofly Rumbo Group is listed on SIX Swiss Exchange.
Some of the information contained in this press release contains
forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that any such
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance
and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may
differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a
result of various factors. Bravofly Rumbo Group undertakes no
obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements.
Contacts
|
|
|
|
Bravofly Rumbo
Group
|
Sabre
Corporation
|
|
|
Media
|
Media
|
Priscilla Daroda
|
Pam Wong
|
Mobile: +41 76 393 83
56
|
Phone: +44 7968 902
626
|
priscilla.daroda@rumbo.com
|
pam.wong@sabre.com
|
|
|
Investor Relations
|
Investors
|
Niccolò Bossi
|
Barry
Sievert
|
Mobile: +41 763925699
|
+1682-605-0214
|
niccolo.bossi@rumbo.com
|
barry.sievert@sabre.com
|
|
|
IRF Communications
AG
|
|
Martin Meier-Pfister
|
|
Direct: +41 43 244 81
40
|
|
Mobile: +41 79 200 85
00
|
|
martin.meier-pfister@irfcom.
|
|
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SOURCE Sabre Corporation