News

Successful completion of Invia Group refinancing

Together with a syndicate of three international banking groups, Invia Group has successfully completed refinancing of some of its assets in the amount of EUR 80 million. Invia Group, one of Europe’s leading online travel agencies, is currently present in seven European countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary) with TTV corresponding to approx. EUR 1.4 billion. The transaction is confirmation of Invia Group’s stability, high performance and positive credit rating.

“This transaction demonstrates that there remains good liquidity in the market for solidly structured, well-performing online travel assets in Europe. We went through thorough negotiations with a consortium of highly reputable banks and we met their high standards. I am very happy that we have successfully concluded this transaction,” says Jaroslaw Czernek, investment partner of Rockaway Capital responsible for online travel assets.

The bank consortium is composed of Česká spořitelna, a.s., Slovenská sporitel’ňa, a.s.  (both part of Erste Group), Komerční banka Czech Republic (Société Générale) and Citibank Europe plc (Citigroup). “In the course of preparing the transaction, outstanding cooperation was confirmed between the client and the financing banks, which are among the leaders in acquisition financing on the Czech market. At the same time, the transaction involved a unique type of financed business (e-commerce) and we see strong potential for using this format for other, similar types of business in the future,” said Michal Kunc, Director, Acquisition & Leveraged Finance at Komerční banka, which served as the agent of the entire transaction.

Invia Group was advised by global law firms Dechert LLP and Dentons. “Dechert London and Dentons Prague worked together effectively as a single team to ensure that Rockaway and Invia got top-tier private equity financing terms and a super-efficient transaction process. Working with Rockaway/Invia is always a pleasure and we wish them well as they move forward,” said John Markland, finance partner at Dechert LLP.

Going forward, Invia Group will focus on stabilization and further expansion of its position in the online travel market and will strive to become a pan-European leader.