TraveLeaders Continues Down Acquisition Path

<B>TraveLeaders Continues Down Acquisition Path</B>

By Megan Hjermstad

TraveLeaders Group last month announced it merged with Sundance Travel International, taking the strategic alliance forged between the two companies in August to the next level. The combined company, which retained the TraveLeaders name, has more than $350 in annual air sales with the addition of Sundance, which last year reported $140 million in air sales.

"Our strategy is to create and acquire islands of excellence," said Keith St. Clair, chairman and CEO of Coral Gables, Fla.-based TraveLeaders. "Sundance, without a doubt, has one of the finest organized and structured businesses, with a fantastic midmarket corporate presence. It is a strategic bicoastal move for us. Through the strategic alliance and subsequent merger, we have created a presence in a very important state."

Sundance, the largest independent statewide travel services company in California, with headquarters in Irvine and locations in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, has brought major corporate clients Broadcom, Oakley and Quiksilver into the TraveLeaders portfolio.

Sundance senior management will stay on with the new organization. Tom Livermore, former chairman and CEO of Sundance, will serve as executive vice president of operations for TraveLeaders. Scott Shadrick, former Sundance president, will serve as vice president of marketing and business development for TraveLeaders.

TraveLeaders this year has completed 15 strategic mergers and acquisitions. St. Clair said the agency is engaged in negotiations with several large travel management companies and he anticipated closing three more deals by year-end. The company--which is 70 percent corporate business--is looking to grow its presence in the Midwest and Northeast and build on its strength in Florida, California and Texas.

"In an industry where some people find it difficult to see a future, we have grown same store sales and profits with a tremendous amount of mid-cap new businesses that still want personal service and that still want the customer treated as number-one," said St. Clair.

Meanwhile, TraveLeaders in August formed a Latin American division, which is servicing more than 100 clients that account for 15 percent to 20 percent of its business. The division has more than 120 customer service representatives fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese at its Coral Gables headquarters, and in 1Q01 will open affiliate offices in Argentina, Brazil and Chile. "The Latin American division is proving to be a great success," said St. Clair. "We are creating a really strong niche in that market, which demands the strategic multilingual skill sets we have in our operation.