Deal also includes a 50% stake in Chimu’s three South American DMCs.
The Intrepid Group has this morning announced a strategic partnership with South American specialist operator Chimu Adventures “in order to meet a growing demand for sustainable travel experiences from increasingly adventurous travellers”.
The deal will see Intrepid take a 50% stake in Chimu Adventures, Get About Asia and three sales offices in the UK, Sydney and the Sunshine Coast as well as Chimu’s three South American destination management companies.
“The addition of Chimu’s $30 million business will add close to 10% of revenue to the Intrepid Group, which is already in excess of $300 million,” according to an official statement.
It’s the first investment by Intrepid since the company split with TUI two years ago and returned to independent ownership under founders Darrell Wade and Geoff Manchester.
Under the deal Chimu will remain independent from Intrepid, with co-founders Greg Carter and Chad Carey continuing to run the business. However a priority that has been agreed for the new joint venture partnership is to launch a range of charter cruises to the Arctic and Antarctica.
More details in today’s issues of Travel Daily and Cruise Weekly.