|
|
|
|
 |
|||
|
 About us |
||
| Newsroom |
|||
|
Press releases |
||
| Careers |
|||
back to Press releases
AMADEUS TAKES CONTROLLING STAKE IN OPODO WITH €62 MILLION INVESTMENT
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
London, 15 June, 2004. Opodo, the pan-European online travel service announced today that Amadeus, the travel technology company based in Madrid, has committed to invest an additional 62 million Euros in the company during 2004, with additional investment over the next couple of years. This €62 million investment will give Amadeus a 55% controlling interest of Opodo. The current nine airline shareholders, whose stakes will be reduced in proportion to the investment by Amadeus, remain fully committed to Opodo. David Scowsill, CEO of Opodo commented, “This investment by Amadeus is a great opportunity for Opodo to develop and grow as a business, and to ensure we succeed in our goal of becoming one of the top three European online travel services. The intention was always that our airline shareholders would decrease their stakes over time, as new investment would be brought in to fund the company through to the next growth stage. Over the next couple of years, Amadeus will be investing in Opodo, enabling us to grow and potentially move into new markets, increase marketing spend and launch new products. We are delighted that by the investment today and plans for the future, Amadeus is showing such strong confidence in Opodo and in the online travel industry as a whole.” Amadeus President and CEO José Antonio Tazón said , “ Over the past two years we have enjoyed a rewarding and productive working relationship with Opodo, first as a technology provider and later as an investor. We are therefore delighted to take a 55% controlling interest; although we plan that Opodo will continue to operate as an independent company. Opodo is already a leader in European online travel and it is our strong belief that over the next couple of years, as the online travel market increases, so Opodo will consolidate that leadership position.” Travel e-commerce activity reached 12.6 billion Euros in Europe last year, and around 6% of all European travel is now booked online**. However the market is still in its infancy, compared with the US, where around 19% of all travel is now booked over the Internet, and online air bookings account for over 30% of total air bookings. Nevertheless predictions are that the European online travel market will follow the US trend, growing dramatically over the next two years, to reach nearly €28 billion Euros by 2005**. End Notes to Editors Under the terms of the deal, the existing shareholder structure will change to reflect the new investment by Amadeus. *New shareholder split Amadeus 55.36% Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa 10.24% each Alitalia, Iberia and KLM 4.08% each Finnair 0.76% Aer Lingus and Austrian Airlines 0.51% eachOriginal shareholder split (2001) Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa 22.86% each Alitalia, Iberia and KLM 9.14% each Finnair 1.71% Aer Lingus and Austrian Airlines 1.14% eachOpodo 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 is owned by nine of Europe's leading airlines - Aer Lingus, Air France, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, KLM and Lufthansa and by leading Global Distribution System (GDS) and travel industry technology provider, Amadeus. 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, 34,000 hotel properties, charter flights, city breaks, package holidays and a worldwide fleet of hire cars, as well as travel insurance and airport parking. 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. Through the Amadeus GDS, travel agencies and airline sales offices in over 210 markets worldwide can make bookings on more than 95 per cent of the world's scheduled airline seats. The system also provides access to hotel properties, car rental companies and other provider groups including: ferry, rail, cruise, insurance companies and tour operators. Amadeus is a leading IT solutions provider to the airline industry, providing a Customer Management Systems portfolio, including: Altéa Sell (distribution), Altéa Plan (inventory management system) and Altéa Fly (departure control system). British Airways, Qantas and Finnair are the first customers to implement these solutions. e-Travel, Amadeus' e-commerce business unit, is the global leader in online travel technology and corporate travel management solutions. More information about Amadeus is available at: www.amadeus. Media contact Gail Sinden Opodo Corporate Communications Tel: + 44 (0) 870 352 5087 Fax: + 44 (0) 870 352 5086 Email: gail.sinden@opodo.com |
|
|||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
