Mergers and acquisitions in the global tourism industry more than double last year as we look back at the gross amount spent on deal actions. The tourism M&A classification falls under the deals that are made regarding hotel purchases, travel service companies and tour operators. In 2014 the total amount spent rounded out to $64.4 billion, a number that beat the last six years of totals.
The pace does not seem as if it will slow down in the coming year either. The emerging presence of digital booking agencies is putting pressure on hotels and travel companies to become more tech savvy and increase their portfolios. With tourism continuing to grow as a market, the industry is becoming increasingly competitive. Firms are looking to stay on the cutting edge of mobile and online travel.
Firms that made it through the recession of 2008 and 2009 have much higher cash flows today, coupled with lower rates for borrowing and increased consumer spending look to leverage their opportunity into a stronger and more diverse foothold. A company that has already begun to strike deals is Accor SA, the largest European hotel firm. They bought Wipolo, a mobile trip planner, on top of the purchase of three hotel portfolios totalling $1.3 billion. Last year was the most busy year since before the recession for tourism deals, the best since 2007.
Companies like Priceline continue to succeed, taking business from travel groups and allowing travelers to book their own vacations. Priceline and similar companies like Expedia collect commissions off of hotel rooms that are booked.
Accor looks to continue their trend of spending, planning to pay out 225 million euros from now until 2018 in order to help their digital presence and booking platform.
For financial advisors, Bank of America Merrill Lynch led all others with a captured market share of 9.9% ahead of Lazard Ltd. with 9.2%.
To read the original article, click here.