After months of speculation and "no comments", Amadeus has broken its silence and said today it is considering offloading European online travel agency Opodo.
In a statement released today to the Madrid Stock Exchange, Amadeus says it is responding to "many rumours" in the Spanish and foreign media about a potential sale of Opodo.
The board of directors has "not made any such decision" at this stage, the statement says.
However, the company confirms that it is "exploring and evaluating strategic alternatives" for Opodo and has hired an investment bank (believed to be JP Morgan) to act as an advisor.
The statement is the first time Amadeus has spoken publicly about its future ownership of Opodo and whether it sees the OTA as an important strategic asset.
In May 2010, just weeks after the successful IPO for Amadeus in Spain, officials said there were "no plans for doing so" when asked about whether the agency was up for sale.
Over the course of the past six weeks, however, Amadeus and Opodo have consistentlyrefused to comment as the rumourmill has turned faster each week.
At this stage, GoVoyages is only company to have officially thrown its hat into the ring as a possible buyer.
But then yesterday the Wall Street Journal published a report suggesting Google and Expedia were also likely suitors for Opodo - a move not taken particularly seriously by many (a leak by bankers to raise the price being the most common theory), apart from one.