The Invia Group, the largest online seller of tours in the Czech Republic, is for sale, writes today’s Hospodářské noviny (HN) with reference to several unnamed sources from the investment and consulting circles and the tourism industry. Invia is currently controlled by the Chinese company CITIC together with Jakub Havrlant’s Rockaway investment group. None of the affected companies commented on the information about the sale to the newspaper.
One of HN’s sources stated that negotiations on the sale of Invia are at an advanced stage, and an in-depth review is already being carried out in the group. Even so, according to him, the transaction may take a long time, because the Chinese group is not among investors who make decisions quickly. The Rockaway Group did not comment on HN’s inquiry regarding the sale, Invia also expressed a similar opinion. CITIC board member Jaroslav Tvrdík also did not respond to the newspaper’s question regarding the sale.
Invia has changed hands several times over the past 20 years. At first it was the agency MojeDovolená.cz. The name changed to Invia after the Swiss investment company Centralway Holding joined the company in 2004. In 2016, the tour retailer was bought by the investment group Rockaway, and shortly after that, China’s CEFC Group acquired a stake in Invia from it, which was later acquired by China’s state-owned CITIC Group.
Investors from CITIC with Rockaway Investment Group control Invia through European Bridge Travel (EBT). According to the minutes of last year’s general meeting, CITIC owns a 60 percent stake in EBT, the remaining 40 percent belongs to Rockaway, writes HN.
According to data on its website, the Invia Group serves roughly two million customers annually. In addition to the Czech Republic, the travel agency also has offices in Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Germany. “In 2023, Invia Group sold tours worth 1.57 billion euros,” Invia spokeswoman Jiřina Ekrt Jirušková told the newspaper. Invia has not published its financial results for a long time. According to HN, it is therefore difficult to estimate the potential sale price.
