GED buys biggest travel agency, Happy Tours

Investment fund GED Eastern Fund II, a part of the Spanish company GED, has taken over Happy Tour, the largest Romanian travel agency in terms of turnover. Happy Travel and GED representatives would not disclose the value of the transaction and the percentage acquired through this deal. Market sources say GED did not purchase the entire Happy Tour capital, and put the company’s value at around 15-20 million euros. Compared with the company’s last year financial indicators, this value accounts for at least a third of the company’s turnover, and is at least 12.5 times higher than the profit. This is the second transaction targeting a local travel agency, after Alto Tours agency, controlled by businessman Florin Tancu, sold a 25% stake to Danish investment fund Weco Travel and Transport Central&Eastern Europe in October. “This is a rather risky transaction, given that a big part of the agency’s business is generated by the corporate segment. Employees are ultimately our biggest asset, and losing one of them can lead to losing a big client,” say sources from the market.