Melbourne-headquartered Intrepid has bought out French adventure travel outfit Altai Group; the group had previously been owned by the investment company belonging to Intrepid shareholder Julien Leclercq, who also chairs global sporting and outdoor goods retailer Decathlon.
Intrepid said the deal would extend its footprint in France, one of Europe's largest adventure travel markets, and open up new French-speaking markets.
It follows Intrepid's previous largest acquisition, that of Dutch tour operator Sawadee Reizen last year, which was formerly part of Travelopia. The adventure specialist said the move signalled its commitment to growing its style of responsible small group travel in Europe.
Altai operates nature-based, active, small group and tailor-made travel via several brands, including Atalante, Altai Travel Copines de Voyage, and Les Aventureurs. Like Intrepid, it is a B Corp and also operates its own network of destination management companies.
The acquisition will add more than Aus $100 million (£53 million) in additional revenue to Intrepid's balance sheet, and bring in an extra 35,000 customers a year.
Intrepid believes Altai, which will continue to be based in France, will "unlock further potential" in Europe and French-speaking markets like Switzerland, Belgium and Canada.
Yann Wulser will continue to lead Altai as managing director, who will report into Intrepid managing director EMEA, Zina Bencheikh, while Altai "will continue to operate with the existing names and brands for the short-term".
"We see the French speaking market as a massive opportunity to further propel our growth and look forward to sharing our strategic vision of the world needs more Intrepid people with new, French-speaking customers,” said Intrepid chief executive James Thornton.
Leclercq, who sits on Intrepid's board, added: "This is the ideal match for the Altai Group, which will allow the business to expand further under Intrepid’s global footprint and expertise.
"It has been a pleasure working with the Intrepid team, since first becoming a key shareholder in 2021 and I’m looking forward to deepening my commitment in the years ahead.
