Travelocity acquires Resfeber Scandinavia agency

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Travelocity has taken another step in its European expansion plan. Travelocity Europe, a joint venture with Germany's Otto trade group, has signed an agreement to acquire the top Scandinavian Internet travel company, Resfeber Scandinavia. The deal makes Travelocity Europe the largest online travel company in Scandinavia -- matching its position in Germany and increasing its European presence.

Established in 1998, Resfeber Scandinavia is the leading multi-channel Scandinavian travel company with operations in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The company has performed exceptionally well since its launch, boasting 220,000 members. Resfeber has won a number of awards, including "Best Swedish Travel Site" for the fourth consecutive year. First quarter 2002 saw sales increase 200 percent compared to the same period last year.

In the acquisition announcement, Travelocity noted that as the most wired region in the world, Scandinavia is an attractive market for online travel sales. Cellular phone penetration in the region is moving beyond 70% and Internet access exceeds 50%, driving consumer online purchasing, particularly in the travel arena.

"The combination of Resfeber's leading position in Scandinavia and local market know-how, and Travelocity Europe's cutting edge technology and travel expertise, gives us a powerful platform for continued success in Scandinavia," said Didrik von Seth, president and CEO of Resfeber Scandinavia. "We are looking forward to working with Travelocity Europe to maximize our combined strengths in the online travel market." 

CEO retained

The company will operate under Travelocity Europe ownership, retaining Resfeber as the lead brand in all three countries. Resfeber chief executive officer von Seth will continue to head up operations from the company's Stockholm base. The closing of this acquisition is subject to certain conditions.

"Travelocity Europe has been steadily gaining ground in the online travel marketplace throughout Europe," said Dirk Hauke, CEO of Travelocity Europe. "The Resfeber acquisition is a significant advancement for us because it establishes Travelocity Europe as the leading online travel provider for Scandinavia, and strengthens our ability to offer comprehensive travel planning and purchasing options to our entire European customer base."

Established in 1998, Resfeber Scandinavia is a leading multi-channel travel company with travel agency and exclusive tour operators in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The company primarily sells leisure travel such as package tours and flight tickets via the Internet and the telephone. 

Event ticket companies

Resfeber owns Box Office and Ticket Service, two of the leading event ticket companies in Sweden and Norway respectively. In April 2002, Resfeber.se was the most visited online travel site in Sweden with 167,000 unique visitors. The largest former owners in Resfeber were Catella IT, Inter-IKEA, Northzone II and Scandinavia online. The company is based in Stockholm with sales offices in Oslo and Copenhagen.

Travelocity provides Internet and wireless reservations information for 700 airlines, 55,000 hotels and 50 car rental companies. In addition, Travelocity offers 6,500 vacation packages, tour and cruise departures and a vast database of destination and interest information. Travelocity employs 1,000 customer service professionals, has sold 22 million airline tickets and has registered 34 million members. Travelocity is wholly owned by Sabre Holdings Corporation.