Ebookers in sell-off talks

Bosses of online travel agency ebookers revealed today that they are in talks to sell the company.

The board of ebookers, which makes most of its money from selling trips to Australia and the US, said it was in preliminary discussions with several interested parties about a possible sale.

The talks are at a very early stage and may or may not lead to an offer, the group said in a statement.

“The board will make a further announcement as appropriate,” the statement added.

One analyst said a possible bidder could be US online business group InterActiveCorp, which owns travel website Expedia.

No-one from New York-based InterActiveCorp was available to comment.

Ebookers warned in July that full-year profits would be hit by weak sales in June.

However, it said last month that since the end of June, trading had been “encouraging” and in line with expectations.

It said pre-tax losses for the first half improved to £5.2m (€7.6m) from £11.7m (€17.1m) last time, while turnover rose to £295.2m (€432.6) against £226.9m (€332.5).

The company has websites in 13 European countries and also operates brands including Flightbookers, Bridge The World and The Adventure Company.