Stockholm (Sweden)/ Amsterdam (Netherlands), 3rd of June 2019 – The Corendon Holiday Group (Corendon), a leading Dutch tour operator and airline in The Netherlands and Belgium, have signed an agreement to sell their activities to Triton. Triton is to acquire the activities of Corendon through Sunweb Group (Sunweb), a Triton Fund V portfolio company. Final agreement is still subject to employee consultation procedures and the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals. Terms of the transaction are not disclosed.
Acquisition of Corendon
Founded in 2000 by Atilay Uslu and Yildiray Karaer, with more than 515 million euro in turnover in 2018, Corendon creates fully integrated holiday experiences for more than 750,000 customers a year in the Netherlands and Belgium. The company started as a travel agency and developed into a tour operator. In 2005 Corendon launched Corendon Airlines International in Turkey, in 2011 Corendon Dutch Airlines in Holland and in 2017 Corendon Airlines Europe at Malta. Besides the travel company Corendon also opened several hotels in Turkey, The Netherlands, Ibiza and Curacao.
The signed agreement with Triton consists of the Corendon tour operating activities in Holland and Belgium, the back-office in Turkey and Corendon Dutch Airlines. It also includes Corendon´s brands Karin’s Choice, Maris Life, Stip Reizen, and GOfun. The airline in Turkey and Malta and the hotels of Corendon Hotels & Resorts are not part of this acquisition. Mr. Uslu will become a member of the non-executive board of the future combined travel company.
Merger of Corendon and Sunweb
Triton became majority shareholder of Sunweb Group earlier this year. The acquisition of Corendon is the first deal for Sunweb under the new ownership, and it will contribute to taking the travel company to a next level. This deal brings the travel brands Corendon and Sunweb together under Triton´s support. Both companies share the same online-driven, customer-focused strategy. Both companies are strong in sun and beach holidays and the major destinations of Corendon and Sunweb complement one another.
The combined company will take advantage of the innovative power and the entrepreneurial DNA for which they are both known. The enhanced scale and financial strength will accelerate digital and concept innovation and create a more appealing product offering and a more unique and distinctive customer experience. The merger will create opportunities to build scale towards multiple destinations across a larger client base, with a mix of owned and external airline capacity in multiple source markets.
From an organizational-, consumer- or brand- perspective neither Corendon nor Sunweb will see immediate changes. Operations will continue as usual and similarly, there will be no change in the current respective management or company structures. Also, service delivery as well as the collaboration with business partners of both companies will continue to operate as usual.
Quotes
“We are very pleased to welcome Sunweb and not the least their majority owner Triton, who has demonstrated deep sector knowledge of the Dutch and European travel industry as new majority owner of the Corendon tour operator activities. The coming merger of Sunweb and Corendon feels like a very natural and logic step. Combining these two companies into one will be a great adventure. Sunweb has moved from a Dutch player towards an international player with strong presence not only in Sun, but also in Ski. Combining this platform with the powerful Sun strength of Corendon and its own airline creates a strong platform for continued investments in innovation, sustainable travel and digitalization,” said Steven van der Heijden, CEO of Corendon International Travel and Corendon Dutch Airlines.
“The value chain in travel is changing and Corendon has proven that its position and business model is resilient and winning in this complex environment. The entrepreneurial DNA and the shared mission of both Sunweb and Corendon to deliver the best possible holiday experience for customers will make sure that we will keep on expanding our position in the European travel market. As owners we strive to maintain and preserve the cultures of both Corendon and Sunweb to provide a great place to work. The combination will also provide a strong platform to continue investing in innovation, sustainable travel and digitalization and to deliver a superior customer experience and exceed the expectations of the future traveler,” said Per Agebäck, Investment Advisory Professional, Sector Leader for Consumer and advisor to the Triton Funds.
“In essence, we announce a future marriage today. A marriage of two winning models. Today we announce that together we will build – speaking in the language of Sunweb – next to our other Powerhouses the most innovative Sun Powerhouse in Europe. We also gladly embrace a complementary inhouse airline, next to the strong airline partnerships we currently have, especially with our partners Transavia and Brussels Airlines. We combine two companies with a similar customer focus, a similar online focus and both with a clear value-for-money strategy. A marriage of two big sets of complementary skills and talent,” said Gert de Caluwe, CEO of Sunweb Group.
