Cologne/Frankfurt/Prague, 20 September 2019. The DER Touristik Group is continuing its growth trajectory in Eastern Europe. As announced by the Group which is head-quartered in Cologne, its Czech subsidiary Exim Holding a.s. (Prague) plans to take over the tourism company Cestovní kancelář FISCHER, a.s. (also in Prague). The acquisition is subject to the approval of antitrust authorities. DER Touristik Group and the seller KKCG Investment AG (Lucerne), have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. DER Touristik is the travel and tourism division of the REWE Group, a leading European trade and tourism Group.
The REWE Group already has a strong and very successful presence in the Czech Republic with its Billa and Penny brands as well as with its tourism company Exim Holding. Sören Hartman, CEO DER Touristik Group says: This planned purchase from Fischer is an investment in our future. We are convinced about the growth of the travel market in Eastern Europe and particularly in the Czech Republic. With Fischer, we can optimally develop our travel products in this market and provide our customers with the best possible platforms.
Whether you are looking for personal advice or would like to book online, we will open up a wide range of travel opportunities for customers with both models. Sören Hartmann emphasises: People have very different travel wishes. We are convinced that local markets need to be served locally. In future, we will also enable Fischer to do this as part of the strong, solid REWE Group and under the umbrella of DER Touristik.
The tourism company Fischer is active in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia as well, and operates under the brand names Fischer, Nev-Dama, eTravel and Privileq. The Fischer brand stands for activities pursued by the travel operator and 66 travel agencies.
Nev-Dama is the specialist for winter and skiing holidays. eTravel is the company’s online portal for package tours. Fischer provides luxury package tours under the Privileq brand. Exim Holding operates internationally with its tour operator brands Exim Tours (Czech Republic and Poland) and Kartago Tours (Slovakia and Hungary). Its offer focuses on package holidays in the Mediterranean region within the 3- to 5-star hotel sector. Exim also offers a comprehensive range of faraway travel to the Caribbean and other long-haul destinations. In the planned acquisition, DER Touristik Group will retain the management teams of both companies, Exim and Fischer.
Both teams demonstrated outstanding performance in Eastern Europe over the past few years. The business portfolio of both companies is to be continued in the Eastern Europe division of DER Touristik Group. Ferid Nasr, CEO Exim Holding, says: I am looking forward to working with future colleagues from Fischer and am convinced of our joint success.
Jiri Jelinek, CEO Fischer, emphasises: Together with Exim, we will be able to make even more impact in the destinations in future. We are joining forces to fulfill our customers’ travel wishes even better than before.