NEW YORK -- An
affiliate of leisure travel conglomerate the Travel Corp. purchased
river cruise operator Uniworld for an undisclosed sum.
Uniworld will
continue to operate as an independent and autonomous company,
according to a Travel Corp statement.
The deal confirms
rumors afloat in the industry for weeks that the Travel Corp. --
parent company of tour operators such as Trafalgar Tours, Insight
Vacations and Contiki Holidays -- would acquire Encino,
Calif.-based Uniworld.
The addition of
Uniworld to [the Travel Corp.s] group of companies will create
tremendous synergy among the various brands, said Michael Ness,
president of the Travel Corp., in a statement.
Uniworld founder
Serba Ilich will remain with the compnay as non-excutive chairman.
Brian Stevenson, formerly chief operating officer, will take serve
as president and CEO, with responsibilities for day-to-day
operations, while Jon Baxter was named chief financial
officer.
To contact
the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail to Kenneth
Kiesnoski at [email protected].