CHICAGO -- Travel attorney Mark Pestronk and travel broker Bob
Sweeney will launch a new trade seminar, Agency Acquisitions --
Traditional and Online, here on Aug. 23.
It will be the first of their series of seminars to focus on
mergers and acquisitions in both the brick-and-mortar market and
"the newer and hotter market for online agencies," said Pestronk,
who is Travel Weekly's legal columnist.
The daylong session is intended for agency executives
considering acquisition campaigns or looking to sell agencies. In
another first, this seminar also is designed to appeal to
investment bankers who want to learn more about the travel business
and the market for online agencies.
Ten topics will be covered: trends in traditional and online
agency sales, preparing your agency for sale, evaluations, sale
terms and conditions, earnouts (prices based on future
performance), tax savings, due diligence, procedural steps, ARC
approvals and the CRS "wild card."
The speakers also will address how the cut to zero airline
commissions has affected agency selling prices and evaluations.
The seminar is set for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the O'Hare Holiday
Inn. Cost for registrations received by Aug. 9 is $245 for the
first participant per company and $122.50 for each additional
participant. Thereafter, the costs are $295 and $122.50,
respectively.
For more details, contact Marcia Higgins at Sweeney's broker
business, Innovative Travel Acquisitions, at (800) 619-0185, or
e-mail [email protected].