CTM ANNOUNCES $52.6M IN GLOBAL ACQUISITIONS

CORPORATE Travel Management (CTM, ASX: CTD) has announced the acquisitions of Chambers Travel in Europe and Diplomat Travel in the USA for a combined $52.6 million.

With a vision to establish a strong base in the UK and European markets and continue to expand in North America, the acquisitions are expected to be earnings per share accretive in FY2015 and will be funded by a fully underwritten Entitlement Offer of fully paid ordinary shares to eligible shareholders at $8.80 lead by Morgans Corporate Limited.

The acquisitions are expected to take effect from January 2, 2015 and will contribute approximately $4 million earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) over six months trading to CTM’s 2015 annual results.

CTM Managing Director, Jamie Pherous (pictured), says the Board expected the Company’s 2015 EBITDA guidance to be above $45 million based on the new acquisitions plus CTM Group’s initial guidance of more than $41 million, to be refined after the 2015 half year results.

Chambers Travel is headquartered in London, with operations in England, Scotland, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and the Czech Republic.

Diplomat Travel is a travel management company headquartered in Washington DC, USA.

CTM, established in Brisbane in 1994, will now cover all major time zones in the USA and operate out of 18 cities across eight states.

Pherous says as a result of the acquisitions, CTM will operate in 46 cities, across 23 countries, on four continents; employing over 1,800 staff worldwide.

“We are delighted to have Chambers Travel become our anchor point in the UK and Europe to lead future growth in this region,” he says.

“Together with our well established businesses in the Asia Pacific and North America, we have a significantly improved our offering for regional and global clients, particularly for travel across the Atlantic.

“Meanwhile, Diplomat Travel has a highly capable team with some of the finest expertise in the industry that we have ever seen. The Diplomat Travel team will provide an excellent East Coast base to deliver future growth.”