Transaction
Pava Partners is pleased to announce that it served as the exclusive financial advisor to the founders of Kreuzfahrtberater.de on the sale to Cruise.co.uk, a portfolio company of Bridgepoint Development Capital (“BDC”). The transaction value amounts to €25 million. The founders of Kreuzfahrtberater.de will reinvest significantly into the joint business and will remain key part of the management team.
The acquisition will result in the company having major operations in the two largest cruise markets in Europe and creating a differentiated European leader in a large, growing and fragmented market. The new combined company will have cruise sales of €250 million, making it the largest cruise travel agency in Europe.
Client
About Kreuzfahrtberater.de
Kreuzfahrtberater.de is a leading online travel agency (OTA) specializing in cruising. The team of the company located in Ahrensburg by Hamburg, Germany, consists of more than 60 employees. The company cooperates with all well-known national and international shipping companies and organizers for high sea and river cruising and counts more than 40,000 satisfied customers in the D-A-CH cruising market, the second largest cruising market in the world.
Buyer
About CRUISE.co.uk
CRUISE.co.uk is a specialist online travel agency (OTA) serving the UK ocean cruise market. The company employs about 170 people and is one of the leading online travel agents for cruises, with a website that attracts 17 million web visits annually.
About Bridgepoint Development Capital (BDC)
BDC is focused on buyouts and growth capital investments, typically in businesses with an enterprise value of between €20 million to €150 million. The company primarily focuses on the sectors Consumer & Leisure, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Industrials, Media & Technology and Business Services. BDC currently operates in the UK, France and the Nordic region.