[May 8] ebookers.com announced
Monday it has acquired all the share capital of Spanish travel wholesaler
and tour operator Viajes
Dimensiones, S.L.
The amount paid was not disclosed, but ebookers.com said it was
in line with other European acquisitions it has made recently.
Viajes Dimensiones sells negotiated fares and last minute holidays
and had revenues in 1999 of £6 million ($10 million).
Dinesh Dhamija, chief executive office of ebookers.com, said his
company had nearly finished its planned series of takeovers in
Europe. He said the acquisitions were being completed ahead of
schedule and within the expected budget.
“Our program allows us to offer many advantages to consumers via
our access to negotiated fares in 11 countries and our presence
in local markets. Our competitors are more localized, operating
in one or just a few European countries which means that their
potential market is smaller than ours,” said Dhamija.
The deal with Viajes Dimensiones enables ebookers.com to
circumvent national and IATA licensing restrictions on
negotiated fares and sell directly to Spanish consumers.
As ebookers.com points out in a statement, its target markets
have a population of 300 million, significantly more than
even the United States where online travel companies have
hitherto enjoyed the largest home market.
The most recent results from ebookers.com showed Q1 sales of
£15.5 million ($24.9 million) for the quarter ending
at March 31, 2000, ten times the figure of the same quarter
in the previous year.
Founded in the U.K. and floated on the Nasdaq and the
Neuer Markt, ebookers.com now operates in France, Germany,
Finland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Ireland, Denmark,
Netherlands, the U.K. and Spain.
The notable exception to the above list is Italy, where
ebookers.com is almost certainly looking for a possible
acquisition to complete its expansion program.
