Fresh from last month having announced a partnership with global private markets investment firm HarbourVest, SA travel booking company Travelstart yesterday revealed it would acquire the Club Travel Group.
Travelstart said in a statement yesterday that the acquisition will boost its offering by adding Club Travel’s established complementary corporate and franchise divisions, creating a “formidable full-service African travel group”.
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Travelstart did not disclose the value of the deal, which is subject to approval by the Competition Commission.
Stephan Ekbergh, the company’s founder and CEO, said while Travelstart is strong in the consumer segment, the company is keen to bring consumerisation to the corporate and government sectors, where Club Travel “is an emerging star”.
Travelstart did not disclose the value of the deal, which is subject to Competition Commission approval
Travelstart was founded in Sweden by Swedish born Ekbergh (pictured above) in 1999 before setting up in South Africa in 2006.
With the acquisition, Travelstart and Club Travel will co-operate to enable the former to expand its business and reach new customers, and the latter to gain the expertise to deliver digital product innovation and remain competitive.
Club Travel will continue as a standalone company within the Travelstart portfolio.
Thebe Tourism Holdings (Thebe), the majority shareholder of the Club Travel Group since 2009, will sell its stake in the Club Travel Group to Travelstart. Thebe and Travelstart will jointly invest in and own Club Travel Corporate, a level one B-BBEE rated division of Club Travel Group.
“The deal is a response to the changes in travel in Southern Africa as consumer and corporate travel markets increasingly favour technology-driven solutions. We are excited to partner up with the team from Travelstart,” said Jerry Mabena, CEO at Thebe Tourism, in the same statement.
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Featured image: Travelstart founder and CEO Stephan Ekbergh (Travelstart via Youtube)
