General Atlantic backed global travel distribution platform TBO Tek Limited-that has filed its draft IPO papers with Sebi, told ET it has signed a deal to acquire the online business of Jumbo Tours Group of Spain, through its wholly owned subsidiary Tek Travels DMCC. The company acquired the business for a consideration of 25 million Euros as per the draft IPO papers.
Jumbonline Accommodations & Services S.L.U. has been demerged as an online business from Jumbo Tours Group. The destination management company business of Jumbo Tours Group will remain a part of Alpitour World.
Gaurav Bhatnagar, co-founder and joint managing director of Tek Travels DMCC told ET that this acquisition will give the company access to not just Jumbo’s clientele but content from across ‘prime’ destinations in Europe right down to the Caribbean.
“We continue to expand our global footprint by staying true to our
commitment to simplifying global travel,” he added. TBO was founded in 2006 by co-founders Ankush Nijhawan and Gaurav Bhatnagar. Both of them are currently joint managing directors of the company.
Jumbo Tours Group is an international tourism operator offering services and products to tourism operators and travel agencies worldwide. The Jumbo online business distributes products for wholesalers and tour operators under one single platform. Their API solution provides access to over 120,000 hotels with 15,000 directly contracted hotels. Complementing this business, there are two other brands, Jumbobeds, which is an online wholesaler for Travel Agencies and Jumbotransfers which offers transport services.
Ginés Martinez, CEO, Jumbo Tours Group, said he was ‘very excited’ with this partnership and looked forward to leveraging TBO’s strengths in travel distribution across the world, specifically Middle East and APAC.
“Their tech, talent and growth have been very impressive, and we are happy to be a part of the TBO family,” he added.
Gabriele Burgio, president and CEO of Alpitour World said he ‘strongly’ believes there is a big potential in this alliance.
“TBO is a great partner in technology and highly specialised in the online business, while Jumbo Tours Group is a great provider of operations, contracting, local knowledge and representation in the destinations. We are sure both parties will get the most out of this joint project,” he added.
Source: Economic Times