Flight Centre makes fifth acquisition in four weeks

Flight Centre makes fifth acquisition in four weeks
By Hannah Edensor


Anyone who’s been asking themselves lately, ‘just how many companies can Flight Centre acquire?’ will be repeating themselves again today, after yet another company gets scooped up.

This time, it’s a North American company, more specifically, Quebec City-based travel company, Les Voyages Laurier du Vallon (LDV) in Canada.

It follows on from FC’s sweeping monopoly over the travel landscape, including DMC and hotel management acquisitions, as well as two travel companies in NZ, one corporate and one mobile.

LDV generates about $C100 million in total transaction value, and about $C9.4 million in revenue from its network of leisure, and Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE) businesses.

Quebec is Canada’s second largest province and a market where until now, Flight Centre was underrepresented in, partly due to challenges posed by complying with local guidelines regarding use of the French language.

“By working with LDV, we will be able to leverage the business’s local expertise, experience and linguistic capabilities to grow our presence in Canada’s second largest market,” Managing Director Skroo Turner said.

“Which is a major corporate hub and home to a large and active leisure travel population.”

Turner said there were also opportunities to capitalise on other synergies and help LDV grow by drawing on Flight Centre’s corporate products, marketing expertise, global supplier relationships and unique product offerings, “which can be distributed through the LDV network”.

Flight Centre will acquire 75 per cent initially, with a rolling put and call option in place for the remaining 25 per cent, to be exercised after July 31 2019.

LDV is a privately owned business with six locations across Quebec City and one in Montreal, employing around 100 people.

The broader ‘Americas’ division is now Flight Centre’s second largest business when it comes to sales, behind only Australia.

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