Kuoni parent company Dertour Group has received the “green light” from the Swiss Competition Commission for its acquisition of Hotelplan Group, following a three-month investigation. The deal was approved without conditions or restrictions, paving the way for the completion of the process by the end of the week.
Dertour is taking over the entire Hotelplan Group in Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom from Swiss retail cooperative Migros. The Interhome holiday home division with the Interhome and Interchalet brands is excluded, which is going to Berlin-based specialist Hometogo.
It is recalled that Dertour has been present in Switzerland for 10 years, when it acquired Kuoni, then a major tour operator in Switzerland, which has since operated as Kuoni Der Touristik.
Dertour UK has around 650 employees and almost 30 retail stores under the Kuoni brand. It was most recently expanded through the acquisition of Solmar Villas. In addition to Kuoni, other specialist brands in the Dertour UK group include Carrier, CV Villas, Journey Latin America, Jules Verne and Kirker.
Dertour Group CEO Christoph Debus, commenting on the approval of the acquisition, expressed his satisfaction with the decision, stating:
“We are very pleased and have immediately initiated all necessary steps to complete the process quickly. We look forward to warmly welcoming our new colleagues from Hotelplan and working together towards a common future, offering our customers even more and better travel options.”
The acquisition of Hotelplan was announced last February.
