ACQUISITIONS
Left to right: Peter Reglar, CEO, Ickenham Travel Group; John Burroughes, managing director, Uniglobe Preferred Travel; Julie Oliver, managing director, Business Travel Direct; Andrew Perolls, executive director, Business Travel Direct
New acquisition for Business Travel Direct
BUSINESS TRAVEL DIRECT has acquired Uniglobe Preferred Travel in a deal that will see the TMCs create a combined business with annual turnover in excess of £100 million. As part of the acquisition, Uniglobe Preferred Travel will be brought into
AIRLINES Easyjet and
Lufthansa submit new Alitalia bids
EASYJET HAS EXPRESSED RENEWED interest in troubled airline Alitalia, and has said it has submitted a proposal with a “consortium” of other airlines. Meanwhile, Lufthansa has also set out its plans for restructuring the failing carrier. Easyjet did not name the other airlines
involved in the expression of interest, or any other details of the document. Bloomberg claimed a source said Air
France KLM was part of the consortium, but the group denied having any interest in Alitalia. In a statement on its corporate website
Easyjet said: “Given the nature of the process, the content of the expression of interest is subject to confidentiality. There is no certainty at this stage that any transaction will proceed and Easyjet
24 BBT May/June 2018
will provide a further update in due course if and when appropriate.” Meanwhile, Reuters reported
that Lufthansa has said it foresees “further talks” after submitting its ideas for a “new” Alitalia. The airline has previously said it would only be interested in buying a stake in a restructured version of Alitalia and wasn’t in the market to purchase the whole airline.
Alitalia, which went into administration in May last year, said it has received three new bids. The Italian government has given the airline at least Ð900 million since last year to keep it operating and has postponed the deadline for making a decision on the sale from November last year to May this year.
the Ickenham Travel Group, though it will retain its name and membership of Uniglobe. All staff at its Brighton and London offices will be retained. Business Travel Direct said they will complement its teams in Langley, Fareham, Oxford and London.
The TMCs say they both share a common emphasis on technology, with both firms being Concur partners. Business Travel Direct won Best Travel
Management Company (£50 million-£200 million UK annual sales) at this year’s Business Travel Awards.
HOTELS
HNA to sell Hilton stake
CHINA’S AVIATION AND TOURISM CONGLOMERATE HNA Group plans to sell some or all of its stake in Hilton Worldwide, according to a regulatory filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The company, which owns Hainan Airlines and several other carriers, purchased a 25 per cent stake in the hotel giant less than two years ago for around US$6.5 billion, becoming its biggest shareholder. Today, it owns 26.1 per cent of Hilton. According to Reuters, HNA has been offloading assets in recent months under financial pressure stemming from a large amount of debt. The company took out huge loans last year, including one to purchase the Hilton stake. Reuters reported that HNA may face
restrictions on the sale, including the need to obtain approval from a majority of Hilton’s board. Details of HNA’s exact plans for offloading its shares have not been released and Hilton has yet to comment on the news
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152
