COMPAGNIE DES ALPES (EPA:CDA) - Compagnie des Alpes - Acquisition of a majority stake in Travelfactory

Transparency directive : regulatory news

09/01/2018 07:30

Press Release

  COMPAGNIE DES ALPES BECOMES THE LEADING DISTRIBUTOR OF MOUNTAIN HOLIDAYS BY
                  ACQUIRING A MAJORITY STAKE IN TRAVELFACTORY

* Compagnie des Alpes acquires a 73% stake in Travelfactory that could increase
  to 100% within 4 years

* With a business volume of around EUR85 M, Travelfactory is France's leading
  distributor of online ski holidays

Paris, January 9th, 2018 - Compagnie des Alpes announces today that it has
reached an agreement regarding the acquisition of a 73% equity interest in
Travelfactory, a specialist in vacation rentals and in the organization of
group trips that leads the French market for online ski holiday sales. Thanks
to this acquisition, Compagnie des Alpes will simultaneously complete its
offering of mountain holidays and accommodation, gain access to younger
clients, and reinforce both its expertise and digital footprint.

Founded in 2000, Travelfactory gradually put its offer together through
acquisitions in France and in Belgium. Today, that offer includes the
Travelfactory brands Travelski (an online travel agency that specializes in ski
holidays) and SimplytoSki (online rental of ski equipment and complementary
services), as well as Golden Voyages and Ski-line, two travel agencies that
specialize in selling ski holidays for students, targeting the French and
Belgian markets, respectively.

Travelfactory's portfolio also features the online tour operator Locatour,
which offers all kinds of stays throughout the year in France, Spain, Italy,
Portugal, Switzerland, Austria and Andorra, including numerous camping
vacations. Travel factory also runs an extensive network of white label
partnerships for sites such as Lastminute.com and Départ1825, as well as
wholesale distribution to 1,000 works councils and 3,500 travel agencies.

Travelfactory is an integrated player whose business activity spans the entire
value chain, from accommodation sourcing to distribution. In the mountains,
Travel factory has a complete accommodation offering that will significantly
strengthen that of Compagnie des Alpes. The offer can basically be broken down
into tourist residences, apartments under management, and private apartments.
Travelfactory has a network of 13 real estate agencies located in ski resorts
in France and operating under the brand names Ski&Soleil and Alpesfor you. With
this acquisition, Compagnie des Alpes more than doubles the number of lodging
units it manages.

Commenting on this acquisition, Dominique Marcel, Chairman and CEO of Compagnie
des Alpes, said: " We are delighted to acquire Travelfactory and welcome its
teams to Compagnie des Alpes. The acquisition of Travelfactory will help us
accelerate our development in the integrated distribution of ski holidays,
which is in line with our ambition of being able to act directly on the resort
occupancy rate. Travelfactory brings us very solid expertise in digital
distribution, a stock of additional accommodation, and access to new and
younger customers, like students, who are key to regenerate ski resort
attendance. We aim at providing Travelfactory with the resources needed for
speeding up its development, particularly in the European market. This is an
opportunity for us to give the French ski community the means to gain market
shares in a highly competitive European market, a move which will firstly
benefit us."

Yariv Abehsera, founding chairman of Travelfactory, noted that "Seeing
Travelfactory join forces with Compagnie des Alpes is a real source of
satisfaction because of the great fit between our two companies. This is a
turning point in our history and a tremendous opportunity that was needed to
continue growing as the leisure and vacation industry has jumped into the era
of 'zero disruption' in the customer experience and a totally digital
relationship. For me personally as well as for all of our employees, this is
also a new and exciting challenge ahead of us as we will be sharing our skills
and expertise in online holiday distribution with Compagnie des Alpes while
fully retaining our identity."

With annual business volume of around 85 million euros, Travelfactory produces
sales of around 35 million euros. TravelFactory employs 130 people.

Compagnie des Alpes is acquiring 73% of Travelfactory share capital, with the
possibility of gradually acquiring the remaining 27% from Yariv Abehsera,
founder and chairman of Travelfactory, over the next 4 years via a put/call
option mechanism.

Travelfactor y would be fully consolidated as of January 1, 2018 and be
accounted for with the Group holding. Its contribution to consolidated EBITDA
for Compagnie des Alpes is expected to be marginal on a full-year basis.

About Travelfactory:

The Travelfactor y Group, a specialist in holiday rentals and organizing group
stays for more than 15 years, is a major player in the travel industry for
tourist destinations that include France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland,
Austria, and Andorra throughout the year, and the leading online distributor of
ski holidays in France.

With a young team of 130 employees, Travelfactory is enthusiastically
developing the Travelski, Ski&Soleil, Simplytoski, Locatour, and Golden Voyages
brands. Travel factory manages nearly 90,000 trips a year, representing more
than 400,000 travelers and annual business volume of around 85 million euros.

A recognized expert in its field, Travelfactory won the 2017 Grand Prix for
Growth Companies in the "Leisure & Tourism" sector for the 20 to 100 million
euros of sales category.

Upcoming events:

* 1Q 2017/2018 sales:                Thursday, January 18, 2018, after stock
                                      market closes

* Annual Shareholders' Meeting:      Thursday, March 8, 2018, afternoon

* 2Q 2017/2018 sales:                Thursday, April 19, 2018, after stock
                                      market closes

www.compagniedesalpes.com

Since it was founded in 1989, Compagnie des Alpes has established itself as an
uncontested leader in the leisure industry. At the helm of 11 of the world's
most prestigious ski resorts (Tignes, Val d'Isère, Les Arcs, La Plagne, Les
Menuires, Les 2Alpes, Méribel, Serre-Chevalier, etc.) and13 renowned leisure
destinations (Parc Astérix, Grévin, Walibi, Futuroscope, etc.), the company
is steadily expanding in Europe (France, the Netherlands, Belgium, etc.) and,
more recently, at the international level (Grévin Montréal in April 2013,
Chaplin's World by Grévin in April 2016, and engineering and management
assistance contracts (China, Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Morocco,
Japan). CDA also owns stakes in 4 ski areas, including Chamonix. During the
financial year ended September 30, 2017, CDA facilities welcomed nearly 23
million visitors and generated consolidated sales of EUR762.3 million.
With nearly 5,000 employees, Compagnie des Alpes works with its partners to
build projects that generate unique experiences, the opposite of a standardized
concept. Exceptional leisure activities for everyone.

CDA is included in the following indices: CAC All-Shares, CAC All-Tradable,
CAC Mid & Small et CAC Small.
ISIN: FR0000053324 ; Reuters: CDAF.PA; FTSE: 5755 Recreational services.

Contacts:

Compagnie des Alpes:

Denis HERMESSE    +33 1 46 84 88 97   denis.hermesse@compagniedesalpes.fr
Sandra PICARD     +33.1 46 84 88 53   sandra.picard@compagniedesalpes.fr
Alexis d'ARGENT   +33 1 46 84 88 79   alexis.dargent@compagniedesalpes.fr

Thomas Marko & Associés:

Xavier YVON       +33.6 88 29 72 37   xavier.y@tmarkoagency.com

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COMPAGNIE DES ALPES (EPA:CDA) - Compagnie des Alpes - Acquisition of a majority stake in Travelfactory

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