Waterland-backed Otravo acquires VakantieDiscounter

Otravo wholly acquired the group through the transaction, adding around €100m to its turnover, which will amount to €600m as a result of the deal.

The acquisition is the second large deal completed by the group over the last 12 months, after the bolt-on of Scandinavian group Flygstolen in July last year, which had brought Otravo's turnover up to €500m and strengthened its position in the Nordic countries.

Vakantie's general manager, Hans van Hoffen, will remain in his position and work closely with Otravo CEO Raymond Vrijenhoek. The Vakantie brand will persist on its own, and all its employees will stay on board, the GP said.

According to a recent Nasdaq report, Otravo has registered an average 30% year-on-year growth in the last few years.

Previous funding
In February 2016, Waterland took a majority stake in the Otravo group through a primary transaction, acquiring stakes from the owners. The deal value was not disclosed, but unquote" estimated it to be within the €50-100m range.

Company
Vakantie is an online travel agency operator. The group was established in Arnhem, in the Netherlands, in 2000, and is part of the larger Elmar Reizen group, launched in 1996. The group claims to have a regular customer base of at least 100,000 users, spread across 50 countries. It currently generates €100m in revenues. The company also sells related travel products, such as insurance and car rental.

Founded in 2014, Otravo owns and operates an online travel agency. The company was formed in 2014 via the merger of two Netherlands-based travel agencies – World Ticket Center (WTC) and Vliegtickets.nl. The groups manages the Vliegtickets.nl and WTC.nl brands in the Netherlands, Vliegtickets.be in Belgium, Flygstolen in Sweden and Tripmonster in Norway and Denmark. Based in Halfweg, the Netherlands, the company employs 170 people and reported a turnover of €500m in 2016. The new merger brings its revenues up to €600m.

People
Otravo – Raymond Vrijenhoek (CEO).

Advisers
Company – Oaklins (M&A).

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• Topics
• Portfolio management
• Benelux
• Consumer
• Build-up
• Waterland Private Equity
• Benelux
• Netherlands