Qantas to sell Helloworld shares for $33m

Qantas has agreed to sell its 12.4% stake in Helloworld for A$33m. The news also means Andrew Finch, the airline group’s general counsel, has stepped down as a director of the travel agent. The sale was priced at $1.72 per share, and the transaction will be recognised in Qantas’ FY23 accounts. Qantas has been a shareholder since 2008 when the company was spun off from a merger of Qantas Holidays and Jetset Travel. Helloworld itself was launched in 2013 after the consolidation of Harvey World Travel, Travelscene, Jetset and Travelworld. A merger with the AOT Group followed in 2016 before the business name was changed to Helloworld Travel in 2017. It today employs more than 600 staff throughout Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Europe. Qantas’ CFO, Vanessa Hudson, said, “Our stake in Helloworld has reduced over several years and now is the right time for us to exit as shareholders. We’ve announced some major investments this year as we focus on what is core to the Group going forward, including fleet renewal, growing our network and a successful expansion into the e-commerce holiday booking space with TripADeal.”<br/>