Grand Circle Corp., a Boston-based tour operator that was to be sold to private equity firm Court Square Capital Partners in February, will remain under the ownership of Alan and Harriet Lewis.
Grand Circle has not specified why the sale did not go through.
Alan Lewis will remain chairman but has stepped down as CEO. Vince Cook, COO, has assumed the role of CEO, in addition to his duties as COO. Sean Stover joined Grand Circle earlier this year as CFO.
In December, the Lewises, who acquired Grand Circle in 1985, said they would retain a 30% stake in the tour operator after the sale. The plan then was for Alan Lewis to remain on the board but be replaced as CEO by Rakesh Gangwal, former CEO of Worldspan. Court Square Capital is a Worldspan investor.
Grand Circle Travel was created in 1958 to serve AARP members. The Lewises expanded that business to include all Americans over the age of 50. In 1993, they acquired Cambridge, Mass.-based Overseas Adventure Travel, and in 1997 they established Grand Circle Small Ship Cruises with a fleet of more than 50 ships.
Today, Grand Circle Corp. has 44 offices and employs 3,000 people. The company does all of its business directly with the public.
According to the Lewises, the company grew from $27 million in sales and 5,000 travelers in 1985 to approximately $760 million in sales and 166,000 travelers in 2007.
To contact reporter Michelle Baran, send e-mail to [email protected].