Phoenix Equity Partners ("Phoenix"), the leading UK mid-market private equity firm, is pleased to announce the acquisition of LateMeetings.com, the online conference and meetings venue booking service, by Expotel, one of Phoenix’s portfolio companies.
Since partnering with Ian Burnley, CEO of Expotel, to acquire Expotel from its founding shareholders in 2008, Phoenix’s investment in the corporate travel management agency has made bolt-on acquisitions of NIS Europe, First Option and, now, LateMeetings.com
Commenting on the acquisition, CEO of Expotel, Ian Burnley, said: "This expansion should be seen as integral to the development of our recently re-launched expotel.com online presence. While call centre bookings will continue to dominate, within five years perhaps 25 per cent of all business event transactions will be web-driven."
David Burns, Partner at Phoenix, added: "We are very pleased indeed that Expotel has made its third bolt-on acquisition in just 18 months."