The Paris office of international law firm Allen & Overy has recently
advised Expedia, a subsidiary of the Barry Diller Group, InterActiveCorp
(IAC), and a world leader in the on-line sale of travel, on the
acquisition of Egencia, one of the major on-line corporate travel
agencies.
This acquisition furthers Expedia’s ambitions to expand in Europe, with
Egencia having a trading volume of over e100 million and a presence in
France, Belgium and the UK.
Allen & Overy had previously advised Expedia in relation to the
partnership formed with the SNCF in 2002 for the purpose of creating an
online travel agency and in December last year with regard to the
purchasing of Anyway.com, the third largest French website selling
tourism-related products.
The sellers include, the management team at Egencia, and the private
equity firms Carlyle and Crédit Lyonnais.
The Allen & Overy Paris Mergers and Acquisitions team involved in thistransaction was led by
Jean-Claude Rivalland (Partner) and Jean-Patrice Labautière (associate),
assisted by Géraud De Franclieu and Thomas Le Vert (associates, Mergers and
Acquisitions department). This team worked in collaboration with Gaël
Beaudoin (Information Technology law aspects) and Christine
Hillig-Poudevigne and Emmanuel Noirot, (Employment law aspects).
Commenting on the deal, Jean-Claude Rivalland said:
“We are delighted to contribute to the European development of the
InterActiveCorp Group and to be able to offer Allen & Overy Paris’
multidisciplinary capabilities to this leading player in the information
technology market.”
The management team at Egencia was represented by Simmons & Simmons,
Carlyle was represented by Kahn & Associés and Crédit Lyonnais was
represented by Bird & Bird.
