Sabre has agreed to buy out the
consortium of 11 airlines that own 65% of Abacus International, a GDS in the
Asia-Pacific region. Sabre currently owns the other 35% of Abacus.
Sabre expects that the acquisition
will be financed through approximately $250 million in cash on hand, augmented
by incremental net debt of approximately $160 million. Sabre targets a
third-quarter completion of the deal.
The acquisition includes new
long-term distribution agreements between Sabre and the 11 airline owners.
More than 100,000 travel agents
use the Abacus GDS, Sabre said.
Abacus will operate as a region of
Sabre Travel Network. Because of its expanded presence in the Asia-Pacific
region, Sabre expects that its airline and hospitality divisions, which provide
reservations technology for airlines and hotels, will increase their sales.
“The Asia-Pacific travel market is
the largest and fastest growing in the world,” said Tom Klein, Sabre president
and CEO. “Acquiring Abacus immediately combines the global capabilities
of Sabre with the deep local market expertise of the leading Asia-Pacific
GDS. This powerful combination will give customers even more innovation
and service options, while allowing Sabre to accelerate growth globally in a
very capital-efficient way — and to gain regional synergies in all three of our
businesses serving travel agents, airlines and hospitality companies.”