The European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union’s long-term financing institution, has granted a loan $197 million for Amadeus IT Group, S.A., subsidiary of Amadeus IT Holding S.A.
The unsecured loan will be used by Amadeus to finance research and development (R&D) activities in its distribution business line between 2013 and 2015.
The EIB is the long-term lending institution of the European Union and is owned by its member states. The EIB Group will significantly step up its lending activities for the 2013 to 2015 period to support the recovery of growth in Europe.
“This development loan to Amadeus follows on the success of [a] previous loan, announced in May last year,” said Philippe de Fontaine Vive Curtaz, vice president, European Investment Bank. “Again this is in line with our objective of making long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals. Amadeus’ pedigree in developing successful IT solutions and commitment to innovating in the travel industry is unquestionable. We are confident this helps to fulfill the objective of ensuring that Europe’s knowledge economy remains world-beating.”
“We are deeply proud to be able to announce, for the second time and within less than a year, that Amadeus has received funding from the prestigious European Investment Bank," said Luis Maroto, president and CEO, Amadeus. He said the latest loan will be utilized to further develop the distribution business line.
"It will allow us to continue to revolutionize travel reservation systems for both travel intermediaries and for travel providers, such as airlines, hotels, and railways," Maroto said.
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