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AMADEUS TO BECOME A SHAREHOLDER OF OPODO
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| London, 02 April 2003. Amadeus, the leading Global Distribution
System (GDS) and travel industry technology provider is to become
a shareholder of the online travel service Opodo.
The €49 million deal, which was signed today, will give Amadeus a 16.67% share holding of Opodo, which was created two years ago by nine of Europe’s leading airlines: Aer Lingus, Air France, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, KLM, Lufthansa and Amadeus. David Scowsill, CEO of Opodo commented, “We are delighted that by investing in Opodo, Amadeus is showing such confidence in the online travel industry. Europe is beginning to follow the US in a rapid move towards online travel purchasing. This investment by Amadeus, a strong technology partner and expert in the travel distribution industry, will enable us to continue to meet the needs of our customers as we grow our business in Europe.” Amadeus President and CEO José Antonio Tazón, “Amadeus is committed to delivering the best possible booking functionality and the most comprehensive distribution tools to enable the success of all customer segments. Through this investment in Opodo we are demonstrating our multi-channel strategy as leading provider of technology to all travel industry players, while deepening our understanding of our customers’ evolving needs in the important European online travel market.” The online industry in Europe is predicted to grow dramatically over the next 12 – 18 months. In the USA $20 billion worth of travel was booked online in 2002 - nearly 10% of the travel industry total. In Europe, at present, it is less than 3% but this is changing rapidly, as Europe starts to climb the same curve as the US. ENDS Notes to Editors New Opodo stakes Under the terms of the deal, the existing shareholder structure will change to reflect the new investment by Amadeus. Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa 19.05% each Amadeus 16.67 % Alitalia, Iberia and KLM 7.62% each Finnair 1.43% Aer Lingus and Austrian Airlines 0.95% each Opodo Opodo is a pan-European online travel service created by nine of Europe's leading airlines - Aer Lingus, Air France, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, KLM, Lufthansa and Amadeus. Opodo launched its first site (www.opodo.de) in Germany in November 2001, its UK site (www.opodo.co.uk) in January and its French site (www.opodo.fr) in April 2002. Opodo addresses the real needs of today’s traveller by offering an unbiased and competitively priced online travel service for world travel, with access to flights from over 400 airlines, 30,000 hotel properties and a worldwide fleet of over 750,000 hire cars, as well as travel insurance. Further information about Opodo is available at www.opodo.com. Opodo was advised by Schroder Salomon Smith Barney. “Schroder” is a trademark of Schroder Holdings plc and is used under licence by Salomon Brothers International Limited, trading as Schroder Salomon Smith Barney. Amadeus Global Travel Distribution (MAD: AMS) Amadeus is the leading global distribution system (GDS) and technology provider, serving the marketing, sales and distribution needs of the world's travel and tourism industries. Its comprehensive GDS data processing centre serves 61,870 travel agency locations and more than 10,520 airline sales offices, which together total more than 269,900 points of sale located in over 200 markets worldwide. Through the Amadeus GDS, travel agencies and airline offices are able to make bookings with 467 airlines, representing more than 95 per cent of the world's scheduled airline seats. The system also provides access to 61,560 hotels, 48 car rental companies serving some 24,400 locations, and other provider groups including: ferry; rail; cruise; insurance and tour operators. Amadeus is a leading application service provider (ASP) to the airline industry. 131 airlines use the Amadeus Sales System in their offices to provide passengers with superior and seamless service at optimal cost. Amadeus’s new generation of Passenger Service Systems, which include all IT systems associated with inventory management and departure control, will be implemented by British Airways, Qantas and Finnair. e-Travel, Amadeus’s e-commerce business unit, is global leader in online travel technology and corporate travel management solutions. It powers the Web pages of 887 travel agencies, 255 corporate sites, 18 hotel sites and 139 web sites serving 50 airlines. Amadeus is headquartered in Madrid, Spain and quoted on the Madrid, Paris and Frankfurt stock exchanges. For the year ended 31 December 2002, the company reported revenues of EUR 1856m and net income of EUR 148.6m. The Amadeus data centre is in Erding (near Munich), Germany and its principal development offices are located in Sophia Antipolis (near Nice), France. The company has over 4,400 employees worldwide. Media Contact: Gail Gillogaley Opodo Corporate Communications Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7664 7956 Fax: + 44 (0) 20 7664 6363 Email: gail.gillogaley@opodo.com Corporate and Marketing Communication Amadeus Global Travel Distribution Tel : +34 915 820 160 Fax : +34 915 820 188 E-mail : info@amadeus.net |
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