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Travel giant Helloworld has launched a takeover bid for beleaguered booking site Webjet.
Helloworld, which already owns 17.27 per cent of Webjet, is offering 90 cents per share for all of its remaining stock, for a total of around $353 million. Webjet has only been listed on the ASX for just over a year since its demerger from WEB Travel Group in September 2024.
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Webjet is Australia and New Zealand’s biggest online travel agency, with 8.2 per cent of all GDS bookings, four per cent of international bookings, and 11.1 per cent of domestic bookings, in the 2023-24 financial year.
“Our proposal represents compelling value for Webjet shareholders. A combination of Webjet and Helloworld would create a powerful business proposition in the dynamic travel bookings industry,” said Helloworld CEO Andrew Burnes in a statement to the ASX.
“We are committed to working collaboratively with Webjet’s Board and management team to progress this transaction expeditiously and with minimum disruption to the company.”
For its part, Webjet has noted that the deal would be “funded through a combination of cash on balance sheet and new debt facilities”.
“After careful consideration of the Helloworld Proposal, the Webjet Board has agreed to provide Helloworld with an opportunity to conduct due diligence,” the company said.
“The Webjet Board notes that there is no certainty that the Helloworld Proposal will result in a binding offer for the company or a completed transaction. Further announcements will be made in relation to the Helloworld Proposal as appropriate.”
Webjet has seen a rocky first year on the ASX, with its first-half underlying earnings dropping nine per cent year-on-year to $14.4 million and domestic bookings down 10 per cent. It has cited weak demand for leisure travel, which it attributed to high airfares and cost-of-living pressures.
The company in July was also ordered to pay $9 million in penalties after it admitted to making false or misleading statements about the price of flights and booking confirmations between 2018 and 2023, having advertised prices that excluded compulsory fees.
“Webjet also admitted that between 2019 and 2024 it provided false or misleading booking confirmations to 118 consumers for flight bookings which had not actually been confirmed,” the ACCC said.
“Webjet later asked for additional payments, of up to $2,120, from consumers to complete the booking. Webjet has refunded these consumers.”
