Proving that there’s never a dull moment in travel, while WIT Indonesia was happening inside the ballroom of Grand Nikko Bali last week, these things happened in the world outside.
One, China’s HNA Group, which is on its path to building a global travel empire, buys Carlson Hotels Inc., owner of the Radisson and Country Inns & Suites chains, for an undisclosed sum. The purchase includes Carlson’s majority stake in Brussels-based Rezidor Hotel Group, which is publicly listed in Stockholm and manages more than 1,400 hotels across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Two, TUI’s Hotelbeds was finally sold for Euro $1.2 billion to two buyers â€" Cinven and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Whatever you think of the price, it shows that private equity investment houses are showing a huge appetite for travel.
The latest Hotelbeds’ financials for the year-ending-in-September show a total transaction value of Euro 3,657 million, turnover of Euro 1,059 million and underlying EBITDA of Euro 69 million. Its gross assets at signing are worth Euro 1,338 million.
Three, Rakuten Travel led a Series A funding round of US$5 million in tour booking software startup, Xola, extending its reach into this hot space in travel. In Asia, Rakuten Travel bought Voyagin, a Japan-based startup focused on Japan and Indonesia.
At WIT Indonesia, Stephen Joyce, CEO of Rezgo, estimated this space to be worth a $100 billion potential in APAC compared to $20 billion in the US and $40 billion in Europe.
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