Published: 21 Sep 2007

TVL owns www.lastminute.com.au and www.travel.com.au online travel sites.

The acquisition is to be implemented by Webjet making a recommended off-market takeover bid for all of the issued ordinary shares in TVL. Webjet will offer TVL shareholders: $0.10 cash; and 0.23 Webjet shares, for each TVL share.

Based on Webjet’s closing price of $1.41 on 5 September 2007, the implied value of Webjet’s offer is $0.424 per TVL share. This values TVL at approximately A$42.3 million, excluding unexercised TVL options.

TVL’s Chairman, Roger Sharp, stated: “The combination of Webjet, travel.com.au and lastminute.com.au should create a highly profitable, industry-leading online travel agent. TVL directors believe that the offer proposed by Webjet provides TVL shareholders with the opportunity to benefit from the increased scale and profitability that a combination of the two businesses would achieve.”

Webjet’s Managing Director, Mr David Clarke said: “Webjet views travel.com.au’s business, including lastminute.com.au, as a valuable and strategically very significant addition to Webjet’s existing online travel business. It will provide Webjet with the opportunity of realising even more substantial economies of scale from our existing operations and provide scope to significantly propel the lastminute.com.au
and travel.com.au brands in the Australian market.”

Clake said the acquisition is consistent with “our stated growth objective.”

“It complements our core business and adds to shareholder value. In that regard, it is expected that the acquisition of travel.com.au will be EPS positive in the first full year of operation post-acquisition,” he said.