I nvia.cz, the travel portal financed primarily by MCI.TechVentures, has completed a deal to purchase 100% ownership of one of its competitors, NetTravel.cz. Invia.cz also acquired LastMinute.sk in the purchase, and now hopes the consolidation of the three portals will aid in raising capital as the company prepares to enter the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The merger is not expected to have any significant impact on end users of the three portals.
NetTravel.cz, s.r.o
NetTravel.cz, s.r.o., run by CEO Jan Stanek, is one of the three largest internet travel portals in the Czech and Slovak Republics. The portal offers high quality tourist services including holiday packages, accommodations, airline tickets, rental cars, travel insurance, reviews, and more. Their online catalog lists nearly 500,000 industry operators worldwide as well as 10,000 Last Minute tour options. In addition to the portal, NetTravel also maintains a handful of brick and mortar locations in the Czech Republic.
Invia.cz, s.r.o
Invia.cz was founded in 2002 and is now the largest Internet travel agency in the Czech Republic. The portal works with more than 400 insured travel agencies in both the Czech and Slovak Republics, and maintains its own agency locations in 30 Czech cities. The company’s services, including accommodations, airline flights, and car rentals, produced sales topping CZK 1.5 billion in 2008, serving more than 111,000 customers.
MCI Management S.A. (www.mci.pl)
Polish-based MCI Management SA manages investment in Venture Capital and Private Equity funds. It specializes in information technology, internet, and biotechnology companies in Central Europe.
MCI focuses upon Central and Eastern Europe and mainly invests in Internet companies, m-commerce, wireless technologies, software, IT, biotechnology/life science and media. Its offices in Warsaw and Prague manage companies like Travelplanet.pl SA, Intymna.pl Sp. z.o.o., Digital Avenue SA, Bankier.pl SA, and Finepharm Sp. z.o.o.
