Amsterdam-based Prosus, a global consumer internet group, on Monday, announced that it is set to acquire Despegar, a Latin American Online Travel Agency (OTA), for $19.50 per share, totalling $1.7B (approximately €1.6B). 

This offer represents a 33 per cent premium over Despegar’s closing share price as of December 20, 2024, and a 34 per cent premium compared to the company’s 90-day volume weighted average price (VWAP).

Despegar’s board of directors has approved the acquisition.

Fabricio Bloisi, CEO of Prosus Group, says, “This acquisition is a clear demonstration of our strategy to build value by creating a high-quality ecosystem of complementary businesses. Despegar is a highly profitable company, with an attractive market position, and an experienced management team – making it a natural addition to our presence in Latin America. We will accelerate Despegar’s growth by leveraging the extensive customer touchpoints within our portfolio, along with our operational expertise and advanced AI capabilities.”

The transaction introduces a significant and compelling addition to Prosus’s Latin America ecosystem, which, post-transaction, will expand to serve over 100M customers across local e-commerce, travel, and fintech sectors.

Despegar operates in over 19 Latin American markets with two main business models.

The first is a B2C platform that connects with customers through a website, mobile app, and chat options powered by the AI assistant Sofia.

The second is a growing B2B segment that offers white-label solutions to partners like banks, airlines, and retailers.

The company handles over 9.5M transactions annually, generating $5.3B in gross bookings, and $706M in revenue, and delivering a reported EBITDA of $116M based on its full-year 2023 results.

Through this acquisition, Prosus plans to create synergies between Despegar and its other regional businesses, such as iFood, Latin America’s leading food delivery platform with 60M customers per year, and Sympla, a prominent events platform.

The transaction is based on standard terms and conditions. It needs approval from Despegar’s shareholders and regulatory agencies before closing, which is expected to happen in the second quarter of 2025.

Damián Scokin, CEO of Despegar, says, “This is an exciting development that delivers a great outcome for Despegar stakeholders. The transaction represents significant value for our stockholders, and I am convinced that Prosus is the ideal partner to drive our next growth phase. For our customers, this means access to an expanded portfolio of services, better experiences, greater loyalty benefits, and more complete solutions tailored to their needs. Prosus has a proven track record of building leading tech businesses worldwide, and their deep understanding of the Latin American ecosystem uniquely positions them to drive our next phase of growth.”

Prosus: Global consumer internet group

Led by Fabricio Bloisi, Prosus is a global internet group and major technology investor.

The company focuses on high-growth markets and creates consumer Internet businesses that benefit people and communities.

The group is focused on building meaningful businesses in the online classifieds, food delivery, payments and fintech, and education technology sectors.

Through the Prosus Ventures team, the group invests in new technology growth opportunities within AI, social and e-commerce platforms, fintech, B2B software, logistics, health, blockchain, agriculture, and more.

“Latin America is a market we know and understand well, with real GDP growth of 2-3% expected next year and promising medium to long-term prospects. Coupled with that, online travel is expanding significantly around the world and the opportunities in the Latin America region give us confidence that we can work with Despegar to take the business to the next level. This investment will serve as a powerful example of how we can build value by integrating businesses into our ecosystem, driving growth, innovation, and lasting impact,” adds Bloisi