SOUTHLAKE, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 24, 2006–In a move that
further strengthens its global presence and positions it for
additional growth in the Asia-Pacific region, Travelocity has acquired
complete ownership of ZUJI, the leading online travel company in the
Asia-Pacific region. ZUJI includes operations in Australia, Hong Kong,
Korea, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan.
Travelocity and its affiliates previously owned, directly and
indirectly, approximately 13.63% of ZUJI. In the transaction completed
on Jan. 24, 2006 in Singapore, Travelocity purchased the remaining
shares in ZUJI from Abacus International Pte. Ltd. and AGC Holdings
Ltd., a consortium of 15 airlines in the region, giving Travelocity
ownership of 100% of ZUJI. The purchase price was approximately US$34
million.
“It is a natural progression for Travelocity to take full
ownership of ZUJI and the purchase positions us nicely for future
growth in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region and Scott Blume and his
team have done a great job building a premier online travel brand and
we are excited to have them fully in the Travelocity family,” said
Michelle Peluso, Travelocity President and CEO. “This acquisition,
coupled with our acquisitions in Europe last year, demonstrates how we
are continuing to expand the Travelocity network globally.”
ZUJI’s CEO Scott Blume said that this acquisition highlighted
ZUJI’s potential for growth and its unique position as a leader and
innovator in online travel in the Asia-Pacific region. He also said
that the change in ownership would not adversely impact the day-to-day
operations of ZUJI teams, Web sites, nor its supplier relationships or
customer bookings.
“We look forward to taking advantage of the technology and
innovation Travelocity will provide ZUJI as we work to offer customers
even more travel choices, greater value, and some clever packaging
features when they book on ZUJI,” Blume said.
Travelocity has worked closely with ZUJI since ZUJI’s launch in
2002, both as an investor and as a technology provider.
“Travelocity’s relationship with ZUJI has given us a deep
understanding of the business, the people, the challenges and the
opportunities for online travel in the Asia-Pacific region,” Peluso
said. “It also means there already are many existing synergies between
our businesses, which bodes well for a smooth integration.”
With 100% ownership in ZUJI secured, Travelocity is now positioned
to:
-- Further enhance the online travel experience for customers in
the Asia-Pacific region by delivering to ZUJI's more than one
million members the best of Travelocity's and Sabre Holdings'
travel and technology expertise;
-- Offer even greater opportunities for suppliers to reach
customers worldwide;
-- Leverage ZUJI's relationships to the advantage of consumers by
offering more and better content and deals, and to the
advantage of partners and suppliers via seamless technology
integration and increased scale;
-- Accelerate ZUJI's B2B (Travel Partner Network) capabilities
and scope, therefore providing unique opportunities for travel
suppliers and other key commercial partners to expand into,
within and/or beyond the Asia-Pacific region;
-- Enhance ZUJI's growth by capturing all of the benefits of
Travelocity's industry-leading capabilities, including dynamic
packaging, its advanced net rate hotel program and
revolutionary site;
-- Expand ZUJI/Travelocity's presence into China and India.
About Travelocity
Travelocity is committed to being the traveler’s champion –
before, during and after the trip and works hand-in-hand with the
world’s most reputable travel providers so that everything about a
customer’s booking will be right. And if it’s not, Travelocity
guarantees that it will work with its partners to make it right, right
away. This customer-driven focus, backed by live 24/7 phone support,
great prices and powerful shopping technology has made Travelocity the
fifth largest travel agency in the U.S. – booking $4.9 billion in
travel in 2004. Based in Southlake, Texas, Travelocity also owns and
operates Travelocity Business(SM), and lastminute.com, a leader in
European online travel. Travelocity is owned by Sabre Holdings
Corporation (NYSE:TSG), a world leader in travel commerce.
About ZUJI
In 2005, ZUJI was unanimously voted Asia Pacific’s ‘Best Online
Travel Agent’ by the readers of TTG travel magazines from 17 countries
across Asia Pacific. ZUJI gives travellers a choice of over 60,000
hotels with 45,000 traveller reviews, 400 airlines as well as offering
package tours, cruises, car hire, attractions and other travel
products online. Each ZUJI site is unique and, ZUJI has teams and
travel websites in:
-- Singapore: www.zuji.com.sg In English
-- Hong Kong: www.zuji.com.hk In English and Cantonese
-- Taiwan: www.zuji.com.tw In Traditional Chinese (ZUJI operates
as ZUJI Buylow in Taiwan)
-- Australia: www.zuji.com.au In English
-- Korea: www.nextour.co.kr In Korean (ZUJI operates as 'Nextour'
in Korea)
-- New Zealand: www.zuji.co.nz In English (site powered by ZUJI,
and managed by Gullivers Pacific)
ZUJI’s ‘Travel Partner Network’ division allows third-party travel
suppliers, agents and web sites to harness the travel booking
functionality of ZUJI for flight, hotel, packages, activities and
other travel content and products. ZUJI’s travel network partners
include: Lonely Planet (Asia); Yahoo! (Korea); MSN (Korea); Atnext
(Hong Kong); Naver.com (Korea); Korean Air (Korea, providing for
‘Honeymoon’ and ‘Woman’ travel portals); Apple Daily Online (Taiwan)
ZUJI is owned by Travelocity(R), an international leader in online
travel. Travelocity is owned by Sabre Holdings Corporation (NYSE:
TSG), a world leader in travel commerce.
About Sabre Holdings Corporation
Sabre Holdings connects people with the world’s greatest travel
possibilities by retailing travel products and providing distribution
and technology solutions for the travel industry. Sabre Holdings
supports travelers, travel agents, corporations, government agencies
and travel suppliers through its companies: Travelocity, Sabre Travel
Network and Sabre Airline Solutions. Headquartered in Southlake,
Texas, the company has approximately 9,000 employees in 45 countries.
Full year 2004 revenues totaled $2.1 billion. Sabre Holdings, an S&P
500 company, is traded on the NYSE under the symbol TSG. More
information is available at http://www.sabre-holdings.com.
Statements in this release which are not purely historical facts
or which necessarily depend upon future events, including statements
about the anticipated benefits of the ZUJI acquisition to Travelocity
or Sabre Holdings Corporation, expected growth of ZUJI and Travelocity
in the Asia-Pacific region, projected effects of the ZUJI acquisition
on Sabre Holdings Corporation’s earnings per share, or other
statements about anticipations, beliefs, expectations, hopes,
intentions or strategies for the future, may be forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Readers are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All forward-looking
statements are based upon information available to Sabre Holdings
Corporation on the date this release was issued. Sabre Holdings
Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. Any forward-looking statements involve
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to
differ materially from the events or results described in the
forward-looking statements, including risks or uncertainties inherent
in the integration of acquired businesses, or in competition within
the Asia Pacific region from established or emerging competitors.
Sabre Holdings Corporation may not succeed in addressing these and
other risks. Further information regarding factors that could affect
our financial and other results can be found in the Risk Factors
section of Sabre Holdings Corporation’s most recent filing on Form
10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
CONTACT: TRAVELOCITY, Southlake
Joel Frey, 682-605-2178
joel.frey@travelocity.com
or
ZUJI
Kim Stockham, +61-409-580-644
kim.stockham@zuji.com
or
SABRE HOLDINGS INVESTOR CONTACT, Southlake
Karen Fugate, 682-605-2343
karen.fugate@sabre-holdings.com
SOURCE: Travelocity