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Polish-listed Wirtualna Polska Holding is to buy Szallas Group, which has become an international player in recent years and operates Szallas.hu, one of Hungary’s largest accommodation booking sites, announced the company’s management and PortfoLion Capital Partners, which represents the owner.
Wirtualna Polska is the owner of several major media and e-commerce portals in Poland and the surrounding region, and although it has so far focused mainly on Poland, the new acquisition will add several new countries and products. In addition, the company will more than triple the market covered by its activities in the sector.
As reported in Világgazdaság, a Hungarian economic site, the Warsaw-based group is expected to pay 82 million euros to Szallas Group shareholders.
The Szallas.hu website was founded in 2007, and PortfoLion bought the company in 2015 with funding from EXIM and OTP Bank. The company has since made acquisitions in Poland, Romania, and the Czech Republic, which have multiplied its revenues.
Annual bookings increased from EUR 20 million per year before the investment to EUR 200 million between 2021 and June 2022. In the last year alone, more than one million bookings have been made on the group’s sites.
The purchase will also have a very positive impact on the volume of accommodation. While travelers can already choose from more than 87,000 accommodation options on the sites, the addition could increase this number to over 100,000.
According to József Szigetvári, CEO of Szallas Group, the change of ownership will not affect the operation of the group’s products.
The change will be felt only in the sense that we will serve our existing and future partners with more and better services, and guests with more accommodation,”
he said.
The deal is expected to be finalized in the autumn.
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