Amadeus, a global leader in technology and distribution solutions for the travel and tourism industry, has agreed to sell its 50 percent stake in Rumbo to Orizonia Corporación, a leading company in the Spanish tourism sector.

The other 50 percent of Rumbo will continue to be owned by Telefónica, the Spanish telecommunications company. Orizonia and Telefónica have applied to the EU competition authority for approval of the agreement; the authority is expected to give its judgement within approximately four weeks.

"We are very pleased with the acquisition of Rumbo and the alliance with Telefonica which it implies," comments Gabriel M. Subías, CEO, Orizonia Corporación. "This is a very important step in the consolidation of our new online division and we are very proud to now be working with Rumbo on this exciting project."

"Rumbo has been extremely successful from the beginning, and is now one of the leading online travel agencies in Spain, Portugal and Latin America," says Philippe Chérèque, Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy, Amadeus.

"But for some years now, Amadeus has been consolidating its online travel agency interests around Opodo, and, while we see a bright future for Rumbo, we consider that now is a good time to hand over the company to new owners so that they can grow it further."