Big OTA consolidation news this morning as German television group ProSiebenSat.1 expands its ecommerce activity with the acquisition of online travel sites Weg and Ferien.
Terms have not been disclosed but the company has acquired, via its subsidiary Seven Ventures, all the shares of Weg and Ferien parent Comvel from investment company Media Ventures.
Existing managing directors Timo Beyer and Wolfgang Lehr will stay on in their current roles after the acquisition which is subject to the approval of the German Federal Cartel Office.
In a statement, ProSiebenSat.1 describes the company as one of Germany's most successful online travel agencies.
Executive board member Dr Christian Wegner says:
"The Internet travel market is one of the biggest e-commerce markets, and one that benefits tremendously from TV advertising.
"The total German travel market has a volume of 52 billion euros; the online travel market accounts for 40 percent, or about 20 billion, of that total."
He adds that travel brands are made for TV and are a 'special point of emphasis' for the company's ecommerce strategy.
ProSiebenSat.1 adds Weg and Ferien to its existing portfolio of online travel brands including Tropo, Wetter (weather information), Billiger-Mietwagen (car rental), MyDays (experiences) and Reise.com.
It also has an equity interest in Holiday-Insider.