Amadeus takes control of Opodo

Amadeus has spent 62 million euros on taking a controlling stake in Opodo.

The GDS has taken a 55% share in Opodo by taking a portion of ownership from each of the nine airline owners.

Amadeus, which started its relationship with Opodo as a technology provider and has had two seats on the board since April 2003, has also committed to further investment over the next two years.

Amadeus UK managing director Arnaud Debuchy told TravelMole: “Our strategy has always been multi-faceted because we see ourselves as an IT and technology provider as well as our distribution role.”

Mr Debuchy answered accusations that the GDS would be competing with its agency customers by investing in an online agent by saying that two companies would remain separate. He told TravelMole: “The management of Amadeus and Opodo will stay completely separate and look to pursue their own interests.”

“It is a fact that now there are three GDSs with some form of stake in online travel companies.”

Other GDSs with ties to online travel portals are Sabre, which owns Travelocity and Galileo, which comes under the same ownership (Cendant) as lodging.com and cheaptickets.com.

Commenting on the deal, Sabre Holdings said that it was increasingly important for GDSs to maximise their presence in every channel of travel distribution, particularly if deregulation goes ahead and they can negotiate freely with suppliers.”

In a statement Sabre added: “It’s amusing to note, though, that until very recently Amadeus was criticising Sabre Travel Network for its relationship with Travelocity.

It is not the only internet travel company that Amadeus has invested in. The GDS has also put money into Rumbo in Spain, Onetravel.com in the US and Travellink in Scandinavia.

“While Amadeus will continue to focus and invest in the traditional and core distribution business, we are equally committed to extending new business lines that will expand our existing potential and support our aim to be the technology partner at the heart of the travel industry”, said Amadeus president and chief executive, José Antonio Tazón.

According to Opodo, its airline owners remain committed to it. Chief executive David Scowsill said: “The intention was always that our airline shareholders would decrease their stakes over time, as new investment would be brought in to fund the company through to the next growth stage.

“Over the next couple of years, Amadeus will be investing in Opodo, enabling us to grow and potentially move into new markets, increase marketing spend and launch new products.”

The new shareholder split will work as follows: Amadeus 55.36%; Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa 10.24% each; Alitalia, Iberia and KLM 4.08% each; Finnair 0.76%; Aer Lingus and Austrian Airlines 0.51% each.