Gimv invests EUR 16.2 million in Easyvoyage, the largest French travel site for information and price comparison
Gimv invests EUR 16.2 million in the French group Easyvoyage as part of a mixed operation in which new capital is raised and existing capital is restructured.
Easyvoyage (www.easyvoyage.com) was founded in 2000 by Jean-Pierre Nadir. Making use of the experience he gained in the publishing business, he developed an original model for portal sites: the group’s web sites combine comparison engines with several filters (flights, all-in, hotels,…), and extensive, mainly proprietary, content provided by about 20 in-house journalists. Thanks to its independent and thorough information, Easyvoyage forms a vital link between internet users and online shops (travel agencies, tour operators,…).
The different websites of the group count more than 6 million unique visitors on average each month (source: Xiti) and generate a turnover of about EUR 450 million on web shops per year. These figures show that Easyvoyage is the biggest French information and comparison site on travelling and one of the leading players in Spain and Italy, where the group only started business recently.
The capital raise will allow Easyvoyage to accelerate its growth in Europe both through organic growth (starting business in Germany and accelerating growth in Great Britain where the group started business a couple of months ago), and external growth: several acquisitions are already being considered.
Arnaud Leclercq on this transaction: “Gimv is extremely happy to lend its support to Easyvoyage, a company that, stimulated by its founder, has come a long way. This operation proves that different Gimv teams are able to collaborate on a European scale in order to come to original solutions.” Gimv’s investment in Easyvoyage is the result of a joint effort of the teams of Buyouts & Growth – France and Technology.
The investment in Easyvoyage is already the fourth transaction of Gimv in France since the beginning of this year, following investments in Leyton & Associés and Made In Design and the sale of Fovea to Sanofi-Aventis. Currently, the Gimv portfolio contains ten French companies.