Holiday rental giant buys European company
Online holiday rental company, HomeAway, has purchased Paris-based Homelidays SAS for an undisclosed sum.
Homelidays operates Homelidays.com, the largest pan-European self-catering site, featuring more than 40,000 listings.
HomeAway, the parent company of Holiday-Rentals and Owners Direct in the UK, has made 12 acquisitions since its inception in February 2005.
This latest purchase came after the company raised $250 million in equity capital in November.
Following the deal, HomeAway now features more than 360,000 worldwide properties.
It claims it is currently in an “excellent position†to continue to fund strategic growth initiatives and marketing investments to increase the awareness of holiday rentals.
“Homelidays is a significant acquisition for HomeAway given its broad inventory and its brand recognition among European travellers,†says HomeAway CEO Brian Sharples.
“For all HomeAway owners and advertisers, it means an opportunity for greater exposure of their properties in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal.â€
Homelidays will continue to operate as an independent brand from its office in Paris and its founder, Florent Mamelle, will continue to oversee operations.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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