Hotelbeds Group has finalised its acquisition of Tourico Holidays, taking a 100% stake in the US-based travel wholesaler.

Regulatory and legal procedures were completed today (8 June 2017), following which Tourico will officially become part of Hotelbeds Group .

An integration plan will now be put into place to combine the two businesses. Following this, the partners and clients of each company will have access to the complete range of services currently available from both Hotelbeds and Tourico.

Tourico founder Uri Argov has made the decision to retire, but will remain a shareholder of the combined company. Asi Ginio, who has been with Tourico since 1999 and is currently chief operating officer, will now become CEO.

“It gives me great pleasure to confirm that a bedbank with a well-deserved reputation for excellence and innovation such as Tourico Holidays is now officially part of Hotelbeds Group,” said Joan Vilà, executive chairman of the Hotelbeds Group. “This deal expands our footprint in the important North American market and – along with our plans also for GTA to join us – forms part of our strategy to accelerate the growth of our business.

“Our medium-term objective is to combine our respective best-in-class technology and distribution expertise for the benefit of both our hotel partners and clients. We will do this in stages and over the coming months will provide partners with further updates on how and when this will happen.”

Ginio, Tourico’s new CEO; “We are excited to now officially be part of Hotelbeds Group and are hugely proud to be participating in what amounts to a transformation for the B2B travel industry.

“On behalf of all my colleagues I would like to thank Tourico Holidays’ founder Uri Argov for making this company the great success that it is today. We wish him all the best for the future.”

Today’s news follows the announcement in April that Hotelbeds is planning to acquire GTA, which has a strong presence in the Asia Pacific market. Together with Tourico’s coverage in North America and Hotelbeds’ presence in Europe, the group is strategically expanding its global network.