Online accommodation website Wotif.com, which is set for debut on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) later this week, is considering the possibility of expanding overseas.

Published: 29 May 2006

Online accommodation website Wotif.com, which is set for debut on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) later this week, is considering the possibility of expanding overseas.

Co-founder and chief executive Graeme Wood said that with a market share in Australia of about 36 percent, Wotif’s major growth opportunities were offshore, according to a media report.

“We will continue to grow in Australia through organic growth and new initiatives,” Wood told AAP. “But the big blue sky is really in international markets. There are less mature markets than Australia and New Zealand that we’re focusing on right now and we stand a reasonably good chance of getting in and getting the same dominant position in those markets as we have done in Australia.”

Wood reportedly said a definite decision to expand offshore had not been made yet, but if it went ahead, the United States wouldn’t be a priority.

“It’s not so much the US that we’re looking at, because that’s a very mature market, the immediate costs over there are very high and there are lots of incumbent players there who spend a lot of money in the media and are well known brand names,” he reportedly said. “There are markets in the Asian sector in our time zone that are less mature in terms of online accommodation bookings or online travel generally, and if we get in there quickly enough and work hard at it then we will be successful.”

Earlier this year, Wotif.com lodged a prospectus with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to seek a listing of its shares on the Australian Stock Exchange in an initial public offering (IPO).
The company shared that Graeme Wood, Wotif.com’s chief executive officer and managing director, will retain a 25.1 percent shareholding in the company post IPO.

Under the IPO, a total of 85.984 million shares are being offered for sale by Wotif.com’s existing shareholders, representing approximately 42 percent of the company’s issued capital. The remaining 58 percent of the company will be retained by its existing shareholders.

“The offer price is to be set through an institutional bookbuild within a pricing range of $1.75 to $2.00 per share. Based on the midpoint of this range, the offer size is approximately $161 million and Wotif.com’s market capitalisation will be approximately $381 million. The proceeds of the offer (net of the offer costs) will be received by the selling shareholders,” stated the company.