AccorHotels to acquire Gekko
AccorHotels has signed an agreement to acquire business travel hotel reservation company Gekko.
Gekko offers search and reservations across more than 500,000 budget and luxury hotels worldwide, and allows business travellers to manage and track their online payments.
Operating in France, Belgium, Spain and Portugal, it has more than 300 corporate customers and 14,000 travel agencies through its subsidiaries: HCorpo, Teldar Travel, Teldar Travel Biz, Miles Attack and Infinite Hotel.
Thibault Viort, chief disruption and growth officer for AccorHotels, said: "AccorHotels' extensive global footprint, together with Gekko's technological leadership, today paves the way for the creation of a global leader in B2B hotel distribution."
Founded in 2010, Gekko is managed by Olivier Delouis and Stéphane de Laforcade, who will continue to run the group independently. The transaction values Gekko at €100m (£88.5m) and will add to AccorHotels' financial performance from 2018.
De Laforcade and Delouis said: "We are fully aligned on our B2B distribution strategy, and AccorHotels' strong brand and reputation will provide us with additional resources and greater legitimacy in key international markets."
The transaction is subject to approval of competition authorities and has been approved by AccorHotels' employee representative bodies.
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