BANGKOK, 7 February: Diethelm-Keller Group, founders of Diethelm Travel, Thailand’s oldest destination management company, have sold their remaining shares in the company to Tourasia’s Stefan Roemer and two partners, according to a Diethelm Travel statement released last Friday.
Roemer, who currently heads Diethelm Travel as its CEO is joined by partners Thomas Maurer (Arcothai International, an exhibition, party entertainment service founded 2016) and a Swiss IT and private equity investor Gonpo Tsering. Together they have taken over the remaining shares in Diethelm Travel, a company established in 1957 that today commands a network of 13 offices in Asia.
In 2017, Diethelm Travel Holdings and Tourasia Roemer AG – the largest tour operator in Switzerland specializing in travel to Asia – merged their Asian destination management operations.
Diethelm Travel’s statement says Stefan Roemer, CEO of Diethelm Travel and founder of Tourasia, has been investing in Diethelm Travel Holding AG for several years and is pleased that DK Travel Holding AG, has agreed to sell its last shares to him and his new partners. Details and conditions of the deal were not disclosed.
“I am excited to assume full ownership of Diethelm Travel together with my new partners and would like to thank Diethelm Keller Travel Holding for the great partnership over the years as well as their trust in us to lead the business into the future successfully. I am confident that Diethelm Travel is well-positioned to take advantage of the travel industry taking off again in 2022,” said Roemer.
According to Roemer, he and his partners will take Diethelm Travel to “the new era of travel empowered with advance IT system while staying true to our DNA as your trusted DMC in Asia.”
Backstory
Travelnews, a Swiss travel news publication, presented the backstory that showed the Diethelm Keller Group set a course to exit the travel industry back in 2018.
“As part of that decision, there were soon changes in the portfolio within the group’s own travel arm DK Travel Group. In 2020, as a result of the pandemic, STA Travel went bankrupt, and Globetrotter was repurchased by its founder. Explorer Fernreisen was also sold. As the former head of DK Travel Group, Casper Urhammer explained to Travelnews in December 2020 that a buyer for the shares in Diethelm Travel Group, one of the largest Asian destination management companies, has since been sought. The process was already underway.”
The Swiss Asia specialist Tourasia has been participating in an investment process since late 2017, when Tourasia founder Stephan Roemer became CEO of the Diethelm Travel Group.
“In December 2020, Roemer told Travelnews that he was “interested in principle” in taking over the Diethelm Travel Group himself. Because of the pandemic, however, he was not willing to take major financial risks at the time.
“But in 2021 the final pieces fell into place. Even though a negotiated right of first refusal had expired, Roemer was able to secure the entire Diethelm Travel Group by the end of December,” according to Travelnews.
“Three investors jointly took over the DTG shares of the Diethelm Keller Group. In addition to Tourasia Roemer AG, it included Arcothai International Ltd, the holding company of Thomas Maurer, a veteran Swiss tour specialist based in Bangkok. He had earlier sold his DMC Travel Center Asia to the Diethelm Travel Group. After that development, he was associated with the company in an advisory capacity. He is now stepping up to the role of a co-investor.
“The third investor is Gonpo Tsering, who according to “Bilanz” is one of the 300 richest Swiss nationals and is credited with being the brains behind the IPOs of DKSH Holding AG and On Shoes.
“Tsering is not only known for large IPOs but also as a ‘deep tech investor’. For example, as an investor in companies with innovative technology, that is probably an indication Diethelm Travel is now taking the next step in terms of technology,” Travelnews reported.
Details of the deal, such as the price paid for the remaining shares, the shareholding breakdown or other considerations such as debt write-off, remain confidential.
Travelnews noted that “Roemer himself stated he does not hold “a majority” in Diethelm Travel, but that the three investors hold equal shares.
According to Travelnews, Roemer added: “It was crucial for me to find partners who are willing to support the ongoing transformation of Diethelm Travel to become a dynamic DMC.”
Roemer informed his own Tourasia management team in Wallisellen Switzerland, about the deal on 3 February.
TravelNews concluded: “In a letter to business partners, Roemer explains that together with the new investors, Diethelm Travel wants to move forward “with the groove of a startup”.
Watch this space
Could that hint of an IPO brewing further down the track and a major shift in direction involving cutting edge travel technology?
The intervention of private equity investor Gonpo Tsering offers a glimpse of the path the restructured Diethelm Travel could take over the next three years. Both Roemer and Maurer are career tour operators or DMC specialists. In contrast, Gonpo Tsering brings to the table experience in IT, marketing, finance M&A, and managing large projects. He was on the DKSH executive board for over a decade. Also, he has served as vice-chairman of security printer Orell Füssli and chairman of luxury watchmakers Maurice Lacroix and Bovet. He currently sits on several company boards, including Cysec, the Go AG, Anapaya, Vereign and Dizmo.
More to the point, he is also a significant private equity investor known for identifying promising tech startups in Europe and Asia.
Born again?
Diethelm Travel Group should enjoy the luxury of starting 2022 with a clean slate and a substantial war chest to navigate a new path in travel technology that will surprise competitors — a born again travel firm?
(Sources: DTG statement, Travelnews)
For the Travelnews report visit https://www.travelnews.ch/reiseanbieter/20866-illustres-schweizer-trio-uebernimmt-die-diethelm-travel-group-vollstaendig.html
