Webjet Limited has entered into an agreement to acquire Destinations of the World (DOTW). The $173 million acquisition will see DOTW join the company’s WebBeds travel industry accommodation supplier business, which also includes the JacTravel, TotalStay, Sunhotels, Lots of Hotels and FIT Ruums brands. Webjet is acquiring DOTW from Gulf Capital, the largest private equity firm in the Middle East, its founder and its management team, who will retain a shareholding in the enlarged Webjet Group.
Dubai-based DOTW is an independent B2B platform with a portfolio of approximately 12,300 directly contracted hotels. Of these, about 5,600 are unique to WebBeds, thereby increasing WebBeds’ directly contracted inventory pool to over 28,500 hotels. Additionally, the approximately 6,700 overlapping hotel contracts will further deepen WebBeds’ room allocation and availability at key hotels around the world, the company said.
DOTW has a particular strength in the Asia Pacific market, which is a key strategic focus for WebBeds. Furthermore, it will deliver a material number of contracts into the strategically important Americas region, while further expanding WebBeds’ presence in the key European and MEA regions.
Adding DOTW to the WebBeds’ family will boost annual total transacted volume (TTV) to over A$2.0 billion (proforma for FY18), representing an increase of 54 percent, and will increase the global footprint with offices in 36 locations. Following the acquisition, WebBeds will have more than 2,100 employees, allowing it to provide truly local support to its worldwide partner network. It will feature a portfolio of more than 250,000 hotels in all regions of the globe, of which about 28,500 are directly contracted.
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