THE Competition
Commission has approved
the merger of retail giants
Travelstart and Club Travel.
Travelstart’s plans to
acquire Club Travel were
announced in June. The
merger is expected to push
the OTA into the top three
or four tiers of largest
consortiums in South Africa
(see TNW June 19).
The Commission
released a statement on
October 7 saying it “had
unconditionally approved the
proposed merger whereby
Travelstart intends to
acquire Club Travel SA and
Flightsite.”
The companies are
currently busy with the
transfer of the undisclosed
sum that will close the
deal and see Travelstart
acquiring Club Travel and its
subsidiaries in its entirety.
The Commission found
that because Travelstart is
an online booking platform,
with a focus on leisure
travel, and Club Travel
mainly provides corporate
travel services, there was
no conflict. “[Club Travel]
also offers leisure travel
services to a very limited
extent although these
services are not offered
online and therefore are
not comparable to the
service offerings of OTAs
such as Travelstart,” the
Commission said.
Regarding Flightsite,
it found the self-service
online travel portal to be
flight specific (offering
packages offline only) and
only providing leisure travel
services. The agency also
operates through Pick n
Pay, which is offline. “The
proposed transaction
is unlikely to result in a
substantial reinvention or
lessening of competition
in any relevant markets,” it
said.
“We are thrilled to
welcome Club Travel to the
Travelstart family,” said
ceo of Travelstart, Stephan
Ekbergh, adding that
together the companies
would continue to build the
best places for people to
plan, book and manage their
trips.
Md and founder of Club
Travel, Wally Gaynor, said
Club Travel was delighted to
join Africa’s leading online
travel agency and knew
that Travelstart’s knowledge
and expertise would ensure
a future for Club Travel
in an environment that is
increasingly dependent on
technology.
A spokesperson at
Travelstart confirmed that
following the merger, Club
Travel would continue to
operate as a separate
entity within the Travelstart
group.
