PE-backed eDreams nears IPO

Amy King
03 March 2014

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eDreams, the Spanish online travel agency backed by Permira and Ardian, is nearing an initial public offering.

Market reports place the valuation at around €1.5bn including debt, though the official offering is expected to value the firm at slightly less than the reported figure, according to a source close to the situation. The IPO is expected to take place in the coming month.

Investment in travel and tourism reached its peak in 2013 with 37 transactions recorded – the strongest dealflow across a five-year sample, according to unquote" data. Deal volume has crept up steadily in the last three years, suggesting strong investor appetite for the sector.

The travel agent, which operates under the Opodo, Go Voyages, eDreams and Travellink brands, completed a refinancing in 2013, placing five-year secured bonds worth €325m to refinance its senior debt. Rumours regarding the IPO had emerged some months previously.

The GPs acquired online travel agent Opodo for €450m in 2011 from parent company Amadeus, according to unquote" data. Both private equity firms invested via their existing portfolio companies Go Voyages and eDreams, with a view to merge the entities and create an online travel agent with revenues of more than €1bn.

In 2010, Permira bought a majority stake in Spanish online travel agent eDreams from TA Associates, with reports placing the deal value at more than €250m. The GP approached the vendor and bought the company in a negotiated sale.

A consortium of investors led by Apax and Atlas Ventures committed around $20m to eDreams in 1999. The following year, 3i joined the duo and invested €16m in the firm.

TA entered the firm's shareholding in 2006 in a €153m buyout, leveraged with senior debt from Fortis Bank and mezzanine from TA Funds.

A number of firms are considering a flotation in Madrid. Broadband operator Grupo Ono, backed by investors including Providence Equity Partners, filed documents with the Spanish regulator in late January this year. The asset caught the eye of both Vodafone and Liberty Global, though its owners are understood to have favoured the IPO route instead of a trade sale. Carlyle-backed Applus was also understood to have appointed Morgan Stanley and UBS in December 2013 to run its IPO in Madrid.