After operating for more than 104 years, The Travel Corporation and its 18 brands including Uniworld have been sold by the Tollman family to Apollo Funds, a US-listed asset management firm for an undisclosed sum.
TTC’s Red Carnation Hotel Collection is not included in the sale.
The mega sale which includes renowned brands such as Trafalgar, Adventure World, Contiki, Insight Vacations and Uniworld Boutique River Cruises marks a major transition for the Tollman family, originally from South Africa, who has built up the brand as a leader in the travel industry both in Australia and internationally.
With no next generation to continue the family-run operations, TTC chairman Brett Tollman said it was time to sell the company.
“Without a next generation to lead TTC, the time has come in our strategic succession plan to select a new owner with a proven track record and who shares in our visions and customer-first values.
“We will support seamless transition and are confident the team at Apollo will continue driving the business forward to meet growing global demand for touring, river cruising and specialist and adventure travel,” said Mr Tollman.
Why Apollo acquires TTC
Apollo Private Equity Partner Michele Raba said in a statement: “TTC has a leading collection of brands that we believe we can take to the next level as an Apollo Funds portfolio company, leveraging our extensive experience in the travel, tech and hospitality sectors.”
Apollo and Silver Lake Partners jointly acquired a stake in Expedia Group in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic for US$1.2billion which provided Expedia with the liquidity it needed to boost its operations in the face of a travel downturn.
