The FTI GROUP, the third largest tour operator in Europe, announces that an agreement has been reached which concludes the process to strengthen the capital and restructure the shareholder base of the Company originally launched in September 2023.

A consortium led by Certares, an investment firm specialized in the travel and tourism sector, with capital provided by co-investors (the “Consortium”), has signed an agreement on the proposed acquisition and funding and will assume control.

Under the terms of the Agreement, FTI will receive new capital of € 125 million to support its next phase of growth and fund digital transformation. The current shareholder has accepted to provide financial support and further investment. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and other condition precedents as are typical for transactions of this type.

Karl Markgraf, CEO of the FTI Group

Karl Markgraf, CEO of the FTI GROUP, stated: “We are delighted to announce our partnership with the Certares-led Consortium. Certares is a leading investor in the global travel and tourism sector. With support from Certares and its extensive experience in the sector and capital provided by the Consortium, FTI is uniquely positioned for future growth and profitability which benefits all the stakeholders, including our customers, commercial partners and employees. We are committed to start our next chapter of success and to further consolidate our position as a leading player in the German and European tourism sector.”

Who is who

Established in 2012, Certares is a global investment firm focused exclusively on the travel and hospitality industries, leveraging deep sector experience, proprietary transactions and hands-on partnership with management teams to drive growth. With approximately $ 10.1 billion of assets under management, including co-investments, as of 31 December 2023, Certares brings together a team with decades of both operational and investment experience in private equity, travel, tourism, hospitality and travel-related business and consumer services.

Delta, Certares and Knighthead in a strategic partnership

With its numerous brands and subsidiaries, the FTI GROUP is the third largest tour operator in Europe. It includes FTI Touristik as well as the short-term tour operator 5vorFlug, the car rental broker Drive FTI, the destination management company Meeting Point International, which is active in over 40 locations worldwide, and the tour operator for promotional goods BigXtra.

Under the umbrella of the hospitality company MP Hotels, the company bundles its hotel brands Labranda Hotels & Resorts and Design Plus Hotels, Kairaba Hotels & Resorts, Lemon & Soul Hotels, Club Sei and Managed by MP Hotels. TVG Touristik Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH combines the franchise systems with the brands sonnenklar.TV Reisebüro, 5vorFlug and Flugbörse. Around 10,000 partner agencies sell FTI products throughout Germany.

The TV travel shopping channel sonnenklar.TV, an FTI GROUP partner, and the online B2B provider for accommodation Youtravel are also important sales channels. The consolidator FTI Ticketshop is responsible for the sale of scheduled flight tickets. In Austria, FTI Touristik is represented by a branch in Linz.

FTI expects highly successful winter 2023/24

The subsidiary FTI Touristik AG, based in Basel, represents the tour operator in Switzerland. The French tour operator FTI Voyages has been part of the FTI GROUP since 2012. With FTI Reizen, the group has also been active in the Netherlands since 2016. The seven service centres handle numerous bookings for the FTI GROUP and external customers. Headquartered in Munich, the Group employs over 11,000 people worldwide and generated consolidated sales of around € 4.1 billion in the 2022/23 financial year.

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Air New Zealand has agreed to purchase 9 million liters of
neat sustainable aviation fuel from producer Neste, the carrier announced
Monday. Neither company disclosed the value of the deal. 

The fuel will be produced at Neste’s Singapore refinery and
will be blended with conventional jet fuel and supplied to Los Angeles
International Airport between April 1 and Nov. 30, 2024, according to the
carrier. Air New Zealand expected its total fuel uptake during that period to
be about 850 million liters across its network.

The carrier said the deal is the “largest purchase of
SAF from Neste by any airline outside of North America and Europe for delivery
before the end of 2024.”