WRI (Hostelworld) Sold to Hellman and Friedman

[Hostels]

BREAKING NEWS: WEB RESERVATIONS INTERNATIONAL ACQUIRED BY HELLMAN & FRIEDMAN

From the press release:

Dublin, Ireland, November 12, 2009 - Web Reservations International, global market leader in online hostel and budget accommodation, today announced its acquisition by affiliates of private equity investment firm, Hellman and Friedman LLC. Through its flagship brand, Hostelworld.com, WRI has over the course of its 10 years, revolutionised online travel through its simple business model, creating a global internet success. WRI’s award winning property management solutions are used by more than 23,000 accommodation providers in 180 countries. Hostelworld.com, a trusted and recognised consumer brand, has sold over 70 million beds and processed over 15 million customer bookings since inception, with customers posting over 2.7 million reviews of accommodation booked through the site.

Announcing the acquisition WRI CEO Feargal Mooney said:
“We are delighted to be partnering with Hellman & Friedman who were identified by our board as the right partner for WRI to support and accelerate our next phase of growth. This business has been built by the vision of our founders together with the collective talents of a highly driven team at WRI. We have an ambitious agenda for growth and further innovation. Hellman & Friedman’s experience in media and marketing services as well as the technology sector will provide valued support and resources to accelerate that growth and capitalise on strategic business opportunities of which we are uniquely positioned to take advantage.”

Stephen Duckett, Managing Director of Hellman & Friedman LLP, said:
“Hellman & Friedman’s investment experience in the digital media and software sectors have given us good insight into the evolution of online businesses. WRI has built a strong and distinctive franchise in the online travel market and we look forward to working with the team at WRI to build on this platform in the years ahead”

WRI sold €350 million worth of accommodation in 2008, generating net revenues of €38million. Its websites include www.hostelworld.com, www.hostels.com, www.boo.com, www.bedandbreakfastworld.com and www.trav.com. WRI is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland and employs 93 people and has offices in Shanghai and Sydney.

WRI was advised on the transaction by Maples and Calder, Dublin and Morgan Stanley, New York. Hellman and Friedman were advised by Freshfields, Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and Goldman Sachs, London.

For further information contact:

For Web Reservations International:
Billy Murphy/ Anne-Marie Curran, Drury
Tel: +353 87 2313085 / 00353 87 2864079
Billy.Murphy@drury.ie / Annemarie.Curran@drury.ie

For Hellman & Friedman LLC:
Hugh Morrison/Caroline Villiers, M:Communications
Tel: +44-207-920-2321
villiers@mcomgroup.com
Steve Bruce/Pen Pendleton/Monica Everett, The Abernathy MacGregor Group
Tel: +1-212-371-5999
SB@abmac.com / PWP@abmac.com / MCE@abmac.com *

About Web Reservations International
WRI*provides technology, distribution and marketing solutions*to*accommodation and other travel suppliers worldwide through a network of owned sites and affiliate partners. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, WRI was founded in 1999 and has*representative offices in Shanghai and Sydney.* WRI has developed award winning*websites including hostelworld.com, hostels.com, bedandbreakfastworld.com, boo.com and trav.com, and has successful*affiliate relationships with many of the world’s leading brands. The WRI business model is simple and fully automated where travellers pay a modest non refundable deposit when they book accommodation on line which is retained by WRI. The balance is paid by customers directly to the accommodation provider at check-in. Hostels and other accommodation providers rely on WRI’s advanced technology platform to allocate inventory, manage pricing and receive bookings within a fully automated process.

About Hellman & Friedman
Founded in San Francisco in 1984, Hellman & Friedman has raised over $25 billion of committed capital and invested in over 60 companies across three principal offices in London, New York and San Francisco. H&F is currently investing its sixth fund, with $8.4 billion of committed capital. H&F focuses on investing in superior business franchises and serving as a value added partner to management in select industries including internet/ digital media, financial services, professional services, software and healthcare. Representative investments in the digital media sector include Doubleclick, Getty Images, and Digitas.

More information:

• http://www.webresint.com/
• http://hf.com/

[Hostels]

Techcrunch also covered the story:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/13...ot-sold-again/

[Hostels]

While not directly related to the Hostelworld sale, this post from 2008 is interesting:
http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/...story36858.asp

While WRI has traditionally made its money from handling online hostel bookings, Mooney said it was broadening its business to other travel services and online advertising.

The firm recently formed a partnership with Ryanair to launch a site called Ryanairvillas.com, allowing villa owners to lease their properties.

WRI has about 90 staff, with overseas bases in Shanghai and Sydney. As well as Mooney and the co-founders, its directors include chairman Fintan Drury, former Aer Lingus chief financial officer Brian Dunne and Mark Opzoomer, the former managing director of Yahoo! in Europe.

The company was valued at about €400 million in 2004 when it raised external funding from Summit Partners, a US venture capital company. However, it bought back some of Summit Partners’ shares in 2006 as part of a corporate restructuring.

The 2007 accounts show the firm paid €35 million to Summit Partners for those shares. As part of that process, a total of €12.2 million was paid to trusts owned by Nolan, Kennedy and fellow director Paddy Holahan, and a further €1.5 million was paid to WRI directors and key management.

[uktrail]

I dont notice the word "Hostel" anywhere in the above (except only in the name of one of the services).

[Hostels]

More coverage of the Hostelworld sale:
http://www.tnooz.com/2009/11/13/news...-to-normality/

And:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...breaking35.htm

Dublin-based Web Reservations International (WRI) has been bought by private equity investment firm Hellman and Friedman in a multi-million euro deal.

A figure for the deal has not been disclosed but it is believed to be in excess of €200 million.

[HostelOffice]

Doubleclick, Getty Images, and Digitas.

These owned businesses of the investor clearly show the direction Hostelworld will go. I think it is the same path they are already on.

[aboriginalhostel]

Interesting result. Will see if the investment firm will be successful and what direction they'll go for.

[Hostels]

The WRI sale was also mentioned in The Post (Ireland) today:
http://www.sbpost.ie/newsfeatures/a-...ers-46425.html

The only other deal to come close to that scale of SWS in 2009 was the buyout of Web Reservations International (WRI), the Dublin internet firm, for $340 million (€240million).WRI, which operates the highly-profitable Hostelworld.com website, was acquired by a US private equity firm Hellman & Friedman after years of strong growth.

The founders and backers of WRI had already shared about €100 million in payouts from the company, making it one of the most valuable Irish technology firms ever created.

Ray Nolan, its co-founder and former chief executive, made more than $100 million from the firm. He is now involved in several other ventures.

[Green Mango]

Wow!!!