Venere.com has acquired the Italian online hotel booking agency Worldby.com.

Published: 05 Feb 2008

Venere.com has acquired the Italian online hotel booking agency Worldby.com.

Venere.com, founded in Rome in 1995, has acquired the company from FINB S.A. and from the company's management team, whose members will continue in their current roles; it is foreseen that the two companies, while leveraging important technology and commercial synergies, will continue to manage independently their accommodation supply partners.

"The acquisition consolidates venere.com's position as one of Europe's leading online reservations operators and the Italian market leader, delivering an additional 2.5 million registered users - almost doubling its customer base since the time of Advent International's 60% controlling investment in November 2006 - and adding a further 6,000 properties to its existing 20,000 throughout the world," stated the company.

"It is foreseen that in 2008 the group will generate gross bookings in excess of EUR500 million. The online hotel reservations market is one of the fastest-growing segments of the EUR200+ billion European travel industry, in itself the largest and most attractive travel market in the world."