In this week's media briefing on Carlson Wagonlit Travel's first half of 2008 performance, president and CEO Douglas Anderson said the company had purchased the remaining stake in its Argentine joint venture in the spring.
Previously, CWT owned 70 percent of the Buenos Aires-based operation and the subsidiary's president Jonathan Dunn, according to Anderson, controlled the other 30 percent. "When we got together with him—this predates me—my understanding was that he brought a good client portfolio with him," Anderson told
Business Travel News. "He is still with us and doing a good job. We mutually decided that the timing was good for us to put together a deal for CWT to take ownership of the JV."
According to CWT, Argentina was the company's fifth-fastest-growing market at 22 percent, behind China, Russia, Italy and Singapore, respectively. Latin America experienced the greatest year-over-year regional sales volume increase for CWT at 37 percent as North American volume lagged and booking softness has spread to Europe
(BTNonline, Sept. 17).