Lastminute buys German namesake

The online travel and leisure company will pay EU24.0m (£16.m) in cash while also issuing 8,229,156 new shares in lastminute.com, which will see companies Anixe Systems, Avinex and Cinetic Internet Touristik change hands.

Lastminute.com will also take ownership of the domain name lastminute.tv, which will be initially licensed to a small independent TV operation, but is not part of this current transaction.

The acquisition will mean that Lastminute.com will become the leading online travel brand in Germany, strengthening its position in Europe, according to them.

The German arm last year boasted turnover exceeding EU49.3m from 115,000 customers with a gross margin of 16% and EU2.6m of gross profit.



The lastminute.de group of companies provides online access to package holidays and flights to German consumers with travel destinations including Spain, Turkey, The Dominican Republic, Cuba and Egypt.

Chief executive of lastminute.com, Brent Hoberman said: "As Europe's leading independent online travel and leisure group, lastminute.com needs to have a substantial presence in Germany, the largest single European travel market. This transaction removes the confusion between the .com and .de brands and ensures that all of our marketing efforts benefit the lastminute.com businesses in Germany.

Lastminute last week announced a change in its management structure in review of its UK operation.





"www.lastminute.com ":http://www.lastminute.com