M&A Deal Summary

First Choice Holidays Acquires LateRooms

On December 27, 2006, First Choice Holidays acquired internet software and services company LateRooms from ECI Partners for 108M GBP

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is First Choice Holidays’ 2nd transaction in the Internet Software and Services sector.
  • This is First Choice Holidays’ 0th largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is First Choice Holidays’ 1st transaction in the United Kingdom.
Investment Fate
  • LateRooms was sold to a strategic buyer in 2019.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2006-12-27
Target LateRooms
Sector Internet Software and Services
Buyer(s) First Choice Holidays
Sellers(s) ECI Partners
Deal Type Add-on Acquisition
Deal Value 108M GBP

Target

LateRooms

Manchester, United Kingdom
LateRooms Ltd. is a provider of online low-cost, late availability hotel rooms. LateRooms was founded in 1999 and is based in Manchester, United Kingdom.

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Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

First Choice Holidays

Crawley, United Kingdom
Category Company
Founded 1973
Sector Internet Software and Services
Employees15,000
DESCRIPTION

First Choice Holidays Plc provides various packages for travelling and restaurant reservation services.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 2 of 2
Sector (Internet Software and Services) 2 of 2
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 2 of 2
Country (United Kingdom) 1 of 1
Year (2006) 1 of 1
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2004-07-16 StudentCity

Peabody, Massachusetts, United States

StudentCity, Inc. provides various packages for travelling and restaurant reservation services.

Buy -

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

ECI Partners

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1976
PE ASSETS 2.0B GBP
Size Large
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

ECI Partners is a private equity firm focused on the smaller middle-market company that invests in growing businesses valued up to £300m. ECI looks for UK businesses or businesses with a substantial presence in the UK. Funds are generally used to support expansion, acquisitions, management buyouts, buy-ins, turnarounds, and refinancing. Target sectors include IT services, support services, Insurance, and SME services. ECI will not invest in early-stage companies. ECI Partners was formed in 1976 and has offices in London, Manchester, and New York.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 29 of 76
Sector (Internet Software and Services) 2 of 10
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 17 of 39
Country (United Kingdom) 28 of 71
Year (2006) 4 of 4
Size (of disclosed) 2 of 35
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2006-10-30 Kirker Travel

London, United Kingdom

Kirker Travel Ltd. is a provider of online booking for luxury holidays offers tailor-made itineraries for holidays across 150 destinations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Far-East and New York.

Sell £16M
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2007-01-01 Axell Wireless

Chesham, United Kingdom

Axell Wireless Ltd. is a provider of Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) and wireless solutions for the public safety and cellular markets, with a specific focus on communication systems for buildings and critical infrastructure applications.

Buy -
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