Kuoni buys CONFERENCE & TOURING GmbH of Germany
Kuoni buys CONFERENCE & TOURING GmbH of Germany
Kuoni is entering the German market by acquiring a 100% stake in Conference & Touring GmbH, based in Berlin, with effect from the beginning of 2008. Conference & Touring GmbH is one of Germany’s leading destination management agencies. Its head office is in Berlin and it has branches in Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Cologne. The takeover agreement was signed the last Friday and the transaction is expected to be completed in time for January 2008. This acquisition underlines Kuoni Group's expansion strategy in destination management, and especially in the meetings, incentives, conferences and events business, as well as in the organization of onshore trips for cruise companies. With effect from the beginning of 2008, Kuoni Destination Management is acquiring a 100% stake in Conference & Touring GmbH, one of the leading destination management agencies in Germany, from previous owners Peter Antoni and Robert Noack. The takeover agreement was signed the last Friday and the transaction is expected to be completed in time for January 2008. Conference & Touring GmbH was founded in 1989. Its head office is in Berlin and it has further offices in Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Cologne. It employs 54 staff and expects to post sales of CHF 24 million (EUR 14.4 million) for 2007. The parties have agreed not to disclose any information about the purchase price.
The agency organizes meetings – which includes searching for event venues, putting together suitable programs of incidental events, coordinating all the necessary logistics - as well as arranging high-end incentive programmes, conferences, congresses and events of all types. Another important part of its business is organizing and providing onshore services for cruise and river cruise companies. Most of its business comes from the USA, Italy, the UK, Spain, France and Scandinavia. Peter Antoni remains as managing director, and all staff are being kept on. In organizational terms the company is being integrated into the Sales Europe & USA sector of the Destinations division. It will report to sector head Miroslav Bauer. Rolf Schafroth, CEO Destination Management, expressed his pleasure at the acquisition: “With this acquisition, which fits our strategy perfectly, our network of destination agencies becomes even more tightly knit. It also addresses the growing demand for meeting, incentive, conference, event and congress services in Germany, which is Europe’s most important events location.”
Background to Kuoni Destination Management:
Under the overall brand of Kuoni Destination Management, Kuoni maintains a worldwide network of more than 60 sales organizations, offering services in numerous destinations to tour operators and travel agents, meeting planners, incentive specialists, event agencies, conference organizers and cruise operators. Kuoni Destination Management also buys local services (hotels, transfers, excursions, etc.), looks after groups in the destinations, and develops its own side programmes. In addition to group travel, services are increasingly offered to individual travellers (FIT) too. These services are sold via an efficient online system to tour operators, agents and brokers (including many online hotel portals). Kuoni Destination Management is also active in the meetings, incentives, conferences and events business, where it combines its outstanding skills in organizing onshore services with its experience in project management to provide tailor-made customer solutions.
Kuoni Destination Management is divided into five units: Europe, USA, India, Africa and Asia. Destination Management Europe mainly serves customers from Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India and North America, while the US Destination Management subsidiary primarily organizes travel for customers from Europe, South America and Asia. In Asia and India as well as in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa, the main customers are from Europe. Both the network of sales organizations and the range of services offered are unique in the world and are constantly being expanded. Kuoni Destination Management is also the official accommodation agency for UEFA EURO 2008™. In this capacity it is responsible for providing the best available accommodation in Austria and Switzerland to the teams, officials, tournament organizers, sponsors and journalists.
