The Spanish travel technology firm seeks to raise more than 1 billion euros
Hotelbeds, a leading provider of hotel rooms to the travel industry, is planning to go public next year in Madrid, according to sources familiar with the matter. The company, which is backed by private equity funds Cinven and EQT, as well as Canadian pension plan CPP Investments, is interviewing banks to lead the sale of more than 1 billion euros ($1.07 billion) of shares in an initial public offering (IPO).
The company and its shareholders are advised by Evercore, a boutique investment bank, and have recently invited pitches from other banks to act as global coordinators alongside Morgan Stanley, the sources said. They added that deliberations are still preliminary, and plans may still be altered or dropped.
Hotelbeds did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Cinven, CPP Investments, EQT, Evercore and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.
Hotelbeds offers access to over 180,000 hotels worldwide
Hotelbeds operates a “bedbank”, which is a platform that offers travel agencies, airlines and tour operators access to hotel rooms worldwide. The company claims to have over 60,000 travel partners and over 180,000 hotels in its portfolio. It also provides ancillary services such as transfers, activities and car rentals.
The company was founded in 2001 as part of the Spanish travel group TUI Travel, which later merged with its German parent TUI AG in 2014. In 2016, Hotelbeds was sold to Cinven and EQT for 1.2 billion euros. In 2017, the company acquired Tourico Holidays and GTA Travel, two of its main competitors, to create a global leader in the bedbank sector.
Hotelbeds benefits from the rebound of the tourism industry
The tourism industry has seen a rebound since governments lifted travel restrictions following the COVID-19 pandemic. Hotelbeds said it had its best fortnight ever in booking revenue earlier this year, recording a booking per second at peak times.
The company also said it had increased its market share during the pandemic, as it offered flexible cancellation policies and competitive prices to its customers. It also invested in technology and innovation to improve its customer experience and operational efficiency.
The IPO of Hotelbeds would be one of the largest in Spain in recent years, and would reflect the improving investor sentiment towards new stocks after months of muted activity. It would also showcase the attractiveness of Madrid as a listing venue for technology companies, following the successful debuts of Allfunds, a fund distribution platform, and Idealista, a property portal, earlier this year.
