travel.com.au is the ugly bridesmaid.So many other companies are...

travel.com.au is the ugly bridesmaid.

So many other companies are being snapped up and shareholders rewarded for their investments.

Never any talk or interest in tvl.

Roger Sharp and his fellow plastic surgeons appear to be doing their best to tart this girl up but will she ever be marriage material? One thing for sure, there are fewer brides around and after a while maybe she don't look so bad after all.

I continue to hold (and hope) on this girl.

Some improved financial results please ......


From The Australian.


Wotif makes room for suitors
Michael Sainsbury
October 07, 2005
A TRADE sale worth up to $500 million to Kerry Packer or Telstra's Sensis division may overtake plans by online accommodation site wotif.com for a public listing early next year.

The country's leading internet accommodation site is understood to have had preliminary talks with Mr Packer's Publishing & Broadcasting Limited and Sensis after last month announcing its intention to list on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Wotif spokeswoman Carolyn Prendergast said the company's board had not yet appointed bankers for its float, but The Australian understands CIBC has been engaged by Wotif as an adviser.

The company is also understood to have solicited pitches from a number of investment banks for float proposals, but talks with potential sale targets had delayed the process.

Wotif's plans for a float or sale underscore the renewed interest in online businesses this year - a phenomenon some are calling Bubble 2.0.


Major media players such as News Corporation, PBL and John Fairfax are pursuing internet companies to capture new audiences and protect the revenues of their traditional businesses from a steady migration to the internet.

Much of the interest in the Web is being spurred by the increasingly widespread use of high-speed internet broadband services.

In Australia, the number of users has doubled in the past year. It was now present in 25 per cent of Australian households, Telstra BigPond chief Justin Milne said.

BigPond now has a million broadband customers.

Investment banking sources said that Wotif was worth between $400 million and $500 million - a sensational return on an investment of $500,000 by chief executive Graeme Wood and three other investors in 2000.

Wotif has forecast sales of over $250 million this financial year, up 35 per cent from last year. Earnings before interest and tax last year were $19.6 million.

Sensis strategy chief Gerry Sutton declined to comment on whether the group was actively pursuing Wotif.

"Wotif have announced their intention to float, so that clearly means to some degree they are in play," Mr Sutton said.

"Anything could happen, couldn't it?

"You could argue that the whole travel, tourism, accommodation type of market is reasonably active in an online sense today.

"But it's not necessarily well co-ordinated."

Wotif displays a list of available hotel, motel and other accommodation options available in a particular town or area. The company takes a percentage of the booking made over the internet.

Since announcing float plans, Wotif has extended the window of its booking period from 14 to 28 days in a bid to increase its bookings.

PBL is considered another suitor. Earlier this week, PBL vended its automotive classified advertising business into leading automotive site carsales.com.au in exchange for 41 per cent of the shares.

This came after the float of seek.com.au, an internet jobs-market leader, in which the Packers held a 25 per cent stake. >News Limited, publisher of The Australian, is attempting to buy out minority interests in realestate.com.au.