Qantas to Sell Remaining Stake in Helloworld Travel for Approximately $33 Million

Qantas has agreed to sell their remaining 12.4 percent stake in Helloworld Travel Limited for approximately $33 million. The carrier has held a stake in the travel agency network since 2008, and will maintain a strong commercial relationship.

On Tuesday (November 8, 2022), Qantas announced that they have agreed to sell their 12.4 percent stake in Helloworld Travel Limited for $1.72/share or approximately $33 million. The carrier originally took a stake in the travel agency network in 2008, when it was spun off from the merger of Qantas Holidays and Jetset Travel. Qantas has since steadily reduced their stake in Helloworld through various transactions and Helloworld’s own structure has evolved.

In Tuesday’s announcement, Qantas Group’s Chief Financial Officer, Vanessa Hudson, said,

“Our stake in Helloworld has reduced over several years and now is the right time for us to exit as shareholders. We’ve announced some major investments this year as we focus on what is core to the Group going forward, including fleet renewal, growing our network and a successful expansion into the e-commerce holiday booking space with TripADeal. We’ll continue to have a very strong relationship with Helloworld as a trade partner, and travel agencies in general remain an important pillar of how millions of trips are booked every year.”

Qantas’ divestment of Helloworld follows the company’s sale of nearly 14 hectares of industrial land near their Mascot headquarters in Sydney for $802 million in late 2021, as part of the airline’s focus on post-COVID recovery.

Source: Qantas