eDreams ODIGEO is a Spanish online travel company that was formed in 2011 as the successor of eDreams with the merger of online travel agencies eDreams and GO Voyages, and the acquisition of Opodo. The company is the largest online travel group in Europe, and the largest distributor of online flights in the world. It has over 18.5 million customers in 43 countries with 40,000 destinations and 575 airlines. The company sells flights, hotels, vacation packages, train tickets, car rentals, and travel insurance. Its headquarters are in Barcelona with more than 1,700 employees worldwide.
History
In 2010, Axa acquired Go Voyages and Permira acquired eDreams. Axa and Permira merged eDreams and Go Voyages, which jointly acquired Opodo in 2011. EDreams ODIGEO was created in June 2011 when eDreams merged with Go Voyages and Opodo, the three largest European online travel agencies, through two private equity firms, AXA Private Equity and Permira Funds. EDream's co-founder, Javier Perez-Tenessa, became the president of the holding group. By March 2014, the company reached €500 million in sales. eDreams Odigeo announced an intention to list on the Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia stock exchanges in early 2014. On April 8, 2014, the company completed its initial public offering on the Bolsa de Madrid, at 10.25 euros per share, which valued the company at around $1.5 billion. This was the first ever initial public offering of an Internet startup in Spain. The sale of shares was managed by financial organizations including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Deutsche Bank AG and Jefferies Group LLC. It was the first company to go public in Spain since 2011. However, after five months the stock price had fallen by 60%, reflecting the shared challenges of a difficult European IPO market. The stock later stabilized, with significant gains in share price including 160% gain in 2016. In January 2015, eDreams announced that former Chief Operating Officer Dana Dunne was promoted to CEO. Previous CEO Javier Perez-Tenessa became honorary chairman. That December, Odigeo opened new offices in Barcelona on Bailén Street. The company received industry awards including "Best Online Travel Partner Global 2015", "Best Flight Booking Website 2015" and "Best international Expansion". In June 2016, it launched free intelligent push notifications on mobile apps for iOS and Android devices, so that travelers can be notified of any flight delays, cancellations and diversions as well as gate announcements and baggage claim areas. Odigeo acquired the BudgetPlaces brand and portfolio from EnGrande in January 2017. After completing a strategic review in November 2017 compiled by Morgan Stanley, it was announced that Odigeo was considering takeover bids in January 2018. In March 2018, it was reported that Odigeo would not accept the unsolicited offers from potential investors. The company announced it would transform its business model based on income diversification and price policy change. Odigeo released a flight cancellation guarantee in May 2018 so that customers are able to cancel flights the day of a scheduled flight with an 80 percent refund of the ticket price for any reason. The policy gives travelers flexibility through the availability of a refund, with a maximum refund limit per person.
Brands
EDreams Odigeo has five brands that offer flights, hotels, car rentals and vacation packages.
eDreams
EDreams was the first internet travel company in Europe and first online travel agency in Spain. In 1999, eDreams was founded in Silicon Valley by Javier Perez-Tenessa, James Hare and Mauricio Prieto.
Opodo
A joint venture between nine European airlines including Aer Lingus, Air France, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, KLM and Lufthansa in August 2000 created a new company, Opodo. Amadeus took a controlling stake in the company in 2004, and increased its stake to 99.74 percent in 2008. In 2009, Amadeus took control of 100 percent of Opodo's stake after acquiring AirLingus' shares. Amadeus sold Opodo to AXA Private Equity and Permira funds in February 2011. Opodo continues to operate as a leading online travel agency in the UK.
Go Voyages
Go Voyages is a travel service company that manages airline tickets, hotel bookings, weekend stay and flight management. It is a leader in the French market.
Travellink
Travellink was founding in 2000 and was acquired by Opodo in 2005. It became part of Odigeo with Opodo. Travellink is the number one travel company in Scandinavian countries. In 2016, Odigeo sold the corporate travel business of Travellink in German, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark to Flight Center Travel.
In 2005, the travel search engine Liligo was established. It raised two finding rounds, including a 3 million euro round in 2008. In 2010, Liligo was acquired by Voyages-SNCF.com. Liligo was acquired by Odigeo in 2013. The company operates in Hungary.
Corporate affairs
The leadership team includes Dana Dunne, David Elizaga and Gerrit Goedkoop as well as Carsten Bernhard and Juan Jose Duran. Philip Wolf serves as chairman and Javier Perez-Tenessa is honorary chairman. The Board of the Company includes Robert A. Gray, Dana Dunne, David Elizage, Philippe Poletti, Lise Fauconnier, Benoit Vauchy, Pedro López and Amanda Wills.
