Dubai-based air services provider dnata has acquired Tropo, a Germany-based tour operator, from ProSiebenSat.1 Group.

The acquisition marks dnata’s entry into the German market and extends its global network of travel businesses in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australasia.

The purchase agreement also includes TV media volume worth several million euros for 2018 and 2019. The contract parties agreed not to disclose the details of the acquisition, which is subject to approval by the antitrust authorities.

Tropo is a dynamic tour operator for low-cost and high-quality travel packages, last-minute holidays and hotel reservations offering up to 200 million vacation options every day.  

ProSiebenSat.1 has held a majority stake in Tropo since 2012. In the roughly six years it has belonged to the media group, the tour operator has increased its brand awareness significantly through the use of TV advertising. The company has successfully defended its position against the challenging market environment in its highly-competitive travel segment over the past years.

Iain Andrew, divisional senior vice president, Travel Services, dnata, said: “We are delighted with this opportunity to have Tropo become part of dnata travel. This acquisition enables us to enter the important and valuable German travel market and enhances our portfolio of travel services in Europe. We see potential for significant synergies between Tropo and our other travel businesses around the world to provide very attractive and unique offerings to inbound and outbound travellers to and from Germany.”

Dr Jan Kemper, chief financial officer ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE and executive board member commerce, said: “We’re pleased to have found dnata as a very experienced buyer for Tropo which will operate on the further development of Tropo close to the own business model. At the same time, with this disposal, we successfully complete the strategic review of our travel segment. We will henceforth concentrate on the further expansion of our activities with the NuCom Group in the Commerce segment.”

Tom Meyer, managing director of Tropo, said: “ProSiebenSat.1 has been instrumental in the development of Tropo over the past several years. Today, both our reach (thanks to the power of TV) and the operational support in various business disciplines allow us to look forward to the future with confidence. For that, we the team of Tropo offer them our gratitude, and we are looking forward to our partnership with dnata as a global player.” - TradeArabia News Service