Gradient Solutions, the Dublin-based travel e-commerce specialist, has been acquired by US multinational, Sabre Holdings Corporation, in a deal estimated to be worth about £20 million (€25.39 million).
The exact financial details were not revealed by either party but the deal is understood to have made co-founders of Gradient Solutions, Mr Gerry Samuels and Mr Stuart Coulson, multi-millionaires.
Both men, who own about 70 per cent of the company, have been appointed to management positions within Sabre and will continue to play a role in developing Gradient as a subsidiary within the group.
Other major benefactors include Enterprise Ireland, which holds a 10 per cent stake in the company, and the Irish technology fund Trinity Venture Capital, which took a 20 per cent stake in November last year. About the same time, the company appointed former Telecom Eireann chairman, Mr Ron Bolger, as non-executive chairman, and has since clinched deals with several major companies including Delta Airlines and KLM. Staff at the company will benefit from a share option scheme, although the company would not reveal what percentage of the firm was held by employees.
Mr Gerry Samuels, joint chief executive and commercial director of Gradient, said the investment from Sabre would enable the company to fund its expansion plans in Europe and the US.
He said Gradient would open an office in Poland in September which would eventually employ 30 people. The number of staff employed at the firm's two Dublin offices should rise to about 100 from its current level of 40, he added.
Gradient Solutions develops, customises and hosts e-commerce platforms in international booking and distribution within the travel industry. It was founded in November 1997 by the two former Worldspan directors, Mr Coulson and Mr Samuels.
Mr Eric J. Speck, group president, travel marketing and distribution group Sabre, said the company had merged with Gradient to establish a presence in the Republic. He said the market price, skills available, and the favourable tax regime, were reasons for the investment.
He said Sabre was investing $200 million (€221.39 million) this year and Gradient would benefit from the massive resources of Sabre, which employs 5,500 technical staff worldwide.
Mr Speck said one of the largest travel e-commerce sites, www.Travelocity.com, in which Sabre held a 70 per cent stake, may soon be marketed in the Republic as part of a European expansion of the brand.
Based in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, Sabre is valued at about $3.7 billion and has more than 10,000 employees.
