Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

HomeAway, Inc., owner of Holiday-Rentals.co.uk cements European leadership by acquiring Abritel.fr

HomeAway, Inc., the U.S.-based owner of Holiday-Rentals.co.uk and world leader in owner managed online holiday rentals, today announced the acquisition of French market leader, Abritel.fr. Simultaneously, HomeAway welcomed the high-profile founders of Alando (now eBay Germany) and Jamba! as investors and advisors to the company. Alexander, Marc and Oliver Samwer have become investors through their venture capital firm, the European Founders Fund GmbH.

Abritel.fr is HomeAway’s third acquisition in Europe, where the company also operates the number one sites in the UK and Germany; Holiday-Rentals.co.uk and FeWo-direkt.de. The investment by the European Founders Fund is further testament to HomeAway’s market leadership and potential.

The news follows HomeAway’s November 2006 announcement of $160 million in financing to fund global expansion initiatives including the purchase of top U.S competitor, VRBO.com. This was the largest private equity investment in an internet and software company worldwide in 2006. With the addition of Abritel.fr, HomeAway’s European subsidiaries now represent over 60,000 properties worldwide.

“At HomeAway we are committed to offering holiday home owners the most efficient way to market their property, and to helping travellers find the perfect holiday home rental. We focus on providing user-friendly sites and the largest, most diverse range of properties”, says Alexis de Belloy, MD, HomeAway Europe. “Abritel.fr shares in this commitment and accelerates HomeAway’s efforts to bring holiday rentals to the mainstream travel industry.”

Created in 1987 by Christian Miquel, Abritel became an internet business in 1997 and is now the number one website for holiday rentals in France. In 2006, Abritel.fr represented 30,000 properties worldwide and received over 11 million visits. It will continue to run as an independent site, under the direction of de Belloy.

“Since its founding in 2005, HomeAway has become the worldwide leader in holiday rentals. We are proud to provide our customers with access to this global online community”, says Miquel. “HomeAway will enable Abritel.fr to grow the European market rapidly, providing our French and pan European homeowners the most cost-effective way to advertise to international travellers.”

Alexander Samwer, MD of the European Founders Fund commented, “We see great potential in the online holiday rentals marketplace and are delighted to be working with HomeAway. As both investors in and advisors to the company, we look forward to working together to further develop the European market and HomeAway’s position as the leader in online holiday rentals.”

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Media contact:

Sarah Chambers, PR Officer, Holiday-Rentals.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 8740 2472 Email: sarah@holiday-rentals.co.uk

About HomeAway, Inc.

HomeAway, Inc. is the worldwide leader for vacation rentals on the Internet. Each year, more than 50 million travellers visit the HomeAway global marketplace that comprises more than 160,000 vacation rental homes across 100 countries. The HomeAway portfolio of vacation rental sites includes HomeAway.com, as well as VRBO.com, CyberRentals.com, A1Vacations.com, GreatRentals.com, TripHomes.com, Holiday-Rentals.co.uk (UK), HolidayRentals.fr (France), Abritel.fr (France) and FeWo-direkt.de (Germany).

About Holiday-Rentals.co.uk Ltd.

Based in London and founded in January 1996, Holiday-Rentals.co.uk was acquired in 2005 by U.S.-based HomeAway, Inc., the world’s leader in owner managed online holiday rentals. Holiday-Rentals.co.uk, together with the European HomeAway sites, forms Europe’s largest marketplace for holiday homes, listing around 60,000 properties worldwide. Holiday-Rentals.co.uk has many years’ experience successfully marketing holiday rental properties online and won a New Media Age Award for Effectiveness in Travel in 2003.

About Abritel.fr SA

Abritel.fr SA (Editions et Publicité SA, prior to the acquisition) was founded in 1979 by Christian Miquel, has 22 employees and is based in Marseilles, France. Editions et Publicité SA created the Abritel brand in 1987 and it became an internet business in 1997. Abritel.fr is the largest website in France for private holiday rentals between individuals, advertising between 20,000 to 30,000 properties, depending on the season. A variety of accommodation is available to rent worldwide, with a particularly large selection in France. The site is translated in to seven languages and received over 11 million visits in 2006.

About the European Founders Fund GmbH

European Founders Fund GmbH is a highly selective investment company run by brothers Marc, Oliver and Alexander Samwer, with offices in Munich, Germany. The Samwers are the founders of eBay Germany (alando) and Jamba! (now part of News Corporation). The internet companies founded by the Samwers have achieved combined sales of more than €1 billion. They are entirely focused on investing in the equity of young technology companies, especially internet & wireless. The Samwers have direct experience in these segments and an extensive network of partners who bring significant value-add to their portfolio companies. With every investment, the Samwers aim to make a difference and to build enduring, significant companies.