Qantas, founders sell down stakes in Helloworld Travel

QANTAS has sold down its stake in travel agency Helloworld Travel.

The travel agency’s largest shareholders, the husband and wife Andrew and Cinzia Burnes who are also its chief executive and executive director respectively, have also offloaded large parcels of shares.

Helloworld yesterday said Qantas had sold 2 million shares in the company for $5.50 each in a trade worth $11 million.

The Burnes have also sold a combined 5 million shares for the same price in a transaction worth $27.5 million.

The trades, carried out on Friday, were completed at a 13 per cent discount to the company’s prior closing price.

Mr Burnes said the sales followed the release of the travel agency’s full-year results which had sparked interest from large domestic and international investors looking to buy in.

“The sale represented an opportunity to broaden the shareholder base,” he said yesterday.

Mr Burnes said a more diverse shareholder base would make it easier to buy and sell the company’s shares, helping it break into the ASX 300 index which broadly track’s the nation’s 300 largest listed companies.

The stakes had been sold to several new and existing institutional shareholders, Mr Burnes said.

More than 70 per cent of shares in Helloworld had been held by three shareholders prior to the sale.

Their holdings have now been reduced to 64.5 per cent.

Qantas retains a 15.4 per cent stake in Helloworld, having sold a 9.4 per cent holding.

The Burnes family retains a 31.3 per cent stake, having sold an 11.4 per cent holding.

The couple founded the privately owned The Australian Outback Travel Company in 1987 which they merged with the listed Helloworld in 2016.

The agency operates a network of around 2000 franchised travel agents throughout Australia.

It booked a 48 per cent rise in full-year net profit to $31.9 million for the year to June.

It has carried out a number of acquisitions this year including rival Magellan Travel Group, online flight booking technology company Flights Systems and outbound travel wholesaler Asia Escape Holidays.

Shares in Helloworld dropped 1.7 per cent yesterday to close at $5.93.