Flight Centre has just made a ‘low risk’ entry into South America, with the acquisition of 24.1 percent interest in Argentina’s second largest travel group, Bibam.
Announced this morning, Flight Centre explained that Bibam was selected because of its strong presence in the on and offline leisure, corporate and wholesale sectors.
The FLT’s (Flight Centre) President in the Americas, Dean Smith, said he expects the investment to deliver enhanced digital commerce capabilities through access to Bibam’s e-commerce platforms such as Avantrip.com and software development teams as well as access to a strategically aligned and experienced partner.
In return, he sees Flight Centre’s contribution as a means of creating new growth opportunities for Bibam through access to FLT’s suite of products and tools and strong digital marketing capabilities, which have now been centralised in a Boston-based digital North Atlantic (dNA) area.
“We are thrilled to partner with such strong operators in this dynamic market, which is also an emerging IT hub.”
Dean Smith, FLT President in the Americas
“We have had a long relationship with Biblos through its involvement in the FCM corporate travel network and have identified further growth opportunities in Argentina and throughout the Latin America region in corporate travel and in other sectors, particularly online.
“We have been impressed with the company’s proprietary technology platform and the level of talent in the organisation.”
Smith continued, saying that he’s excited to partner with CEO Cristian Adamo and his team to further improve Flight Centre’s e-commerce and mobile services “through access to great talent and software”.
FLT will pay $US7million for its 24.1 percent stake in Bibam and will be represented on the company’s board, with Mr Smith to be appointed as Director.