This is big news for people who experienced the dotcom crash, survived and brought home a t-shirt: Boo.com, once an online fashion retail outlet that went spectacularly bust in early 2000 after burning through approximately $135 million in VC money in about a year and a half, just got acquired (once again).
Actually, it’s Boo.com’s latest parent company Web Reservations International that was purchased by affiliates of private equity investment firm Hellman and Friedman for an undisclosed amount. But it’s Boo.com, people!
In May 2007, Dublin, Ireland-based Web Reservations International turned Boo.com – which will forever remain one of the most famous implosions of the dotcom era – into a travel website with reviews and listings, complementing its already established range of online travel brands: hostelworld.com, bedandbreakfastworld.com, hostels.com and trav.com.
The news of the acquisition of WRI by the American PE firm comes weeks after the Irish company hired investment bank Morgan Stanley to find a buyer for a – rumored – £275 million (nearly $460 million).
WRI doesn’t publicly disclose how much funding it has raised over the past few years (although they most certainly did raise VC). But clearly this is a great exit for Ray Nolan, Tom Kennedy, Paddy Holohan and (U2 manager) Paul McGuinness, who founded WRI back in 1999, coincidentally also the year the former Boo.com first saw the light of day.
WRI claims its property management solutions are used by more than 23,000 accommodation providers in 180 countries. One of its flagship sites, Hostelworld.com, has sold over 70 million beds and processed over 15 million customer bookings since inception, with customers posting over 2.7 million reviews of accommodation booked through the site.
WRI sold €350 million ($521 million) worth of accommodation in 2008, generating net revenues of €38 million ($56.5 million). The company is headquartered in Dublin, employs 93 people and has offices in Shanghai and Sydney.
(Thanks for the tip, Steven Anderson)
Wow who would have thought. The return, better than a stock play.
It has risen from the dead.
Tried to sell them Ghost.com but they weren’t buying….don’t know how they could go with boo without the ghost?
hope this time,it could be better.Who knows this is the rise form the dot com bubble curse.anyway,the domain is historical!
Wow. I haven’t heard word about boo.com in years. I had no idea they were still alive. Well done on the comeback!
“But it’s Boo.com, people!” Too funny!
Why this site doesn’t undergo it’s final shift to become a media hub for horror / fantasy content is beyond me. They might as well make up another nonsense word for a domain name. the “boo.com” brand is dead dead dead no pun intended.
“But it’s Boo.com, people!” ha ha i love this
AOL looking to IPO, Boo.com in the news…lets party like it’s 1999.
I haven’t heard that name in 9 years. Wow! time flies by in the web world!
Actually, this is a very significant announcement in the world of online travel and has very, very little to do with boo.com.
Good attention-grabbing headline and all, but too bad it undermines the importance of the transaction.
Did quick check. The name is not good.
“Having great talent, but no energy to support it. The business is self-run but no result. It is difficult to achieve wealth and power.
This name is destructive.”
Very confusing!