Rockaway Capital and strategic partner CEFC China Energy Company are strengthening their position in the online travel agency business via the acquisition of assets from bankrupt German company Unister, based in Leipzig.
The Unister insolvency administrator announced on December 29 that Rockaway Capital will acquire well known online travel agency brands ab-in-den-urlaud.de ( AIDU ), reisen.de, billigfluege.de, reisegeier.de, urlaubstours.de, hotelreservierung.de, and TravelViva. Together they make up one of Germany's largest online travel platforms, but the company ran into financial difficulties and filed for insolvency in July 2016.
The credit committee has given its consent to the acquisition, though the administrator has not disclosed financial details of the transaction. The process is being handled by insolvency experts Floether & Wissing.
The acquisition will be jointly financed by Rockaway and CEFC, Rockaway's passive strategic financial partner for investments in the travel sector.
The companies have continued operating under the jurisdiction of the administrator, and will now be supported for a new phase of growth by Rockaway, which is the leading internet investor in Central and Eastern Europe, focusing on e-commerce and internet companies.
The German platforms will work alongside the existing Czech travel agency Invia, which was acquired by Rockaway in the first half of 2016. Invia is the largest online travel agency in the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary. It has 700 employees, while the newly acquired German businesses have 500.
Chinese tourists visiting Europe are viewed as an opportunity by CEFC, and in addition to online booking of hotels, flights, and tour packages, it sees synergies in air transport and the hotel industry. 2016 was a difficult year, as the impact of terrorist attacks in various European cities led to a reduction in Chinese visitors to primary tourist attractions such as Paris. But the long term trend is still viewed as a positive.
The Unister deal marked the last in a series of significant moves during 2016 by Chinese companies investing in the global travel business. In April, HNA Group acquired the Radisson hotel chain owner Carlson Hotels, and followed this up in October with the acquisition of a 25% stake in Hilton for US$6.5 billion.
Back in 2015 Fosun Group acquired Club Med, and established a strategic partnership with UK travel group Thomas Cook. In September 2016 Thomas Cook China was set up as part of this strategic alliance, targeting wealthy Chinese tourists. Fosun currently owns 8.2% of Thomas Cook.
More Chinese investment in the tourism sector is expected in 2017. It is viewed as less problematic than sectors such as high tech manufacturing, where there are the beginnings of pushback from regulators as the number of takeovers involving Chinese companies increases.
Late in 2016 the takeover of Aixtron, which manufacturers chip making equipment, was vetoed by the US. Although based in Germany, Aixtron has extensive US operations and important clients in the defence industry.
Another deal viewed as controversial was the bid made by Midea for industrial robot manufacturer Kuka. This deal is proceeding, and is expected to close in January.
Shanghai Stock Exchange listed CEFC is ranked 229 on the Fortune Global 500 list, and in addition to its core businesses of energy and finance, it has expanded into Europe in the areas of tourism, the airline industry, and e-commerce.
Rockaway Capital is headquartered in Prague, and also has offices in San Francisco and Sao Paulo.
