Hungarian Postal Service sells travel agency
Hungarian postal service Magyar Posta has sold the Lenau Reisen travel agency back to its former owner, Magyar Posta information manager Katalin Szasz confirmed for Econews. Ms Szasz declined to give any details of the sale.
Econews has learned that the postal service lost tens of millions of forints on the deal, and was unable to recoup even a quarter of the agency’s purchase price.
The Postal Service announced in March that it had purchased the travel agency based in Pecs (SW Hungary). The agency, whose main activities are orgainising tours and selling airline tickets, has assets of HUF 44m, employs a staff of 25, and operates three offices. It had a net revenue of HUF 1.17bn in 2001, and pretax profit of more than HUF 10m. Magyar Posta paid HUF 90m for the agency, according to earlier press reports.
The Magyar Posta’s new management is focusing on advancing traditional postal services, which is why it has decided to sell the travel agency. No one submitted bids in a public single-round sale. The Postal Service then sought to invite buyers, but failed to attract one. An agreement was finally reached with the former owner to repurchase the agency.
