Dragos Anastasiu, the owner of the Eurolines group, told local Profit.ro that he was interested in buying competitor Happy Tour, one of the largest tourism agencies in Romania.

Anastasiu is currently negotiating with the company’s owner, the Spanish investment fund GED. The Romanian investor wants to develop the business within its group.

"Happy Tour is in the process of selling and we are in the due diligence process, but not just us. There are probably others. I am interested in them," said Anastasiu.

He added: "I'm interested in expanding my portfolio to business travel."

The business tourism market is split among several large agencies, including Business Travel, New Concept Travel, Aerotravel and Happy Tour. Tourism agency Happy Tour recorded sales of almost EUR 50 million last year, up 10% over 2015.

The Eurolines group saw sales of EUR 125 million in 2016, up 13% year-on-year.

editor@romania-insider.com