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Webjet Limited, Australia and New Zealand’s largest online travel agency, has announced it has entered into binding agreements to acquire Zuji in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Zuji is the number one online travel agency in air tickets in Hong Kong and Singapore and the official packaging partner of Virgin Australia's Blue Holidays. It has a substantial presence in Australia's online travel agency space with a total annual TTV in excess of $A300 million. Zuji is a subsidiary of Travelocity.com LP, which is owned by Sabre Holdings Corporation.
MinterEllison advised Webjet on the deal - Webjet is a long-standing client whom we have assisted on all aspects of its business since its inception.
Our corporate advisory team was led by partners James Hutton and Joanne Dunne. "Operating across four jurisdictions and time zones (Australia, US, Hong Kong and Singapore), the acquisition is formative for Webjet's APAC strategy. It was a transaction that required in-depth knowledge of both the acquirer and target businesses, both of whose operating models are highly complex and sophisticated," James Hutton said.
The purchase price of US$25 million is approximately 4.6 times pro forma adjusted CY2012E EBITDA plus US$5 million in restricting costs. The deal also included a A$30 million capital raising, including through an underwritten institutional placement to fund the transaction, underwritten by Credit Suisse and a share purchase plan.
The acquisition is subject to certain conditions precedent, including customary regulatory approvals, and is expected to be completed in Q1 2013.
© 2018 MinterEllison
