Major Hungarian Accommodation Booking Firm Sold

Polish online media group Wirtualna Polska Holding will buy Hungarian tourist platform operator szallas.hu from the Hungarian private equity and venture capital PortfoLion Capital Partners for an estimated EUR 82 mn, the company said in a press release.

The price includes EUR 72 mn estimated enterprise value and EUR 10 mn net cash deposit at szallas.hu.

The takeover is subject to approval from the Hungarian Ministry of Technology and Industry, among others.

The Hungarian company has national travel websites for booking accommodation in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania and Poland.

This acquisition, together with the portal already present in Wirtualna Polska’s portfolio, Nocowanie.pl, is said to create the largest group operating in the field of domestic tourism booking in Central and Eastern Europe.

Chairman of the Board of Wirtualna Polska Holding SA, Jacek Świderski said that “the purchase of Szállás Group is the first foreign investment, a breakthrough in the development of Wirtualna Polska Holding. After the merger with our Nocowanie.pl, the largest local business group operating in the field of domestic tourism booking in Central and Eastern Europe will be created.”

The Szállás Group currently offers 87,000 accommodation properties in five countries. Along with the acquisition of the Szallas [‘Accommodation’] Group, Wirtualna Polska will operate more than 100,000 accommodation establishments within its portfolio of travel portals.

As the CEO of Szállás Group, József Szigetvári pointed out, “we will continue to follow the growth path in Central and Eastern Europe, which we have forged with PortfoLion, by making new acquisitions and supporting the continued organic growth in our region of Europe. The company’s Board of Directors strongly believes that being part of such a large and dynamic group as Wirtualna Polska Holding opens up new opportunities for our highly motivated team of 350 people, especially within our Polish portfolio.”