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TIAS acquired by NAQ Technology
14 May 2002
The business of TIAS, Australia's best-known travel technology company, has been acquired by NAQ Technology Limited, a rapidly expanding technology group specialising in point-of-sale software for the financial services and insurance industries.

The Chairman of TIAS, Mr Barry Stevens, said today that the sale of the business was part of the ongoing strategy to expand the role of TIAS as a neutral provider of electronic distribution services for the Australasian travel industry.

"This is a major step forward for TIAS, as the business continues to focus on truly integrated information and distribution systems for travel wholesalers and retailers in Australia and New Zealand," said Mr Stevens.

TIAS research shows that travel agents have long sought a one-stop-shop solution, which enables them to undertake product research, make all supplier and customer bookings, pay suppliers and capture customer profiling information from a single site.

This Integrator technology will simply and quickly create a single passenger name record (PNR) that incorporates all of the products purchased by the customer. 

The Integrator project is the primary focus of TIAS, and the new owners of the company have declared their commitment to funding and developing this exciting initiative, as well as providing their ongoing commitment to Boris, the travel agent customer relations management (CRM) product offered by TIAS. 

With this combination, Integrator will provide full 'look, book and settle' functionality and Boris will feature comprehensive CRM and trip management capabilities - all accessible through TIAS.

Mr Stevens said TIAS was originally formed in 1978 by three airline shareholders - Trans Australia Airlines, Ansett and Qantas - to provide a basic computer reservations system for the sale of air tickets. Air New Zealand became a shareholder in 1992, after TIAS acquired two computer reservations systems, Southern Cross Distribution Systems and Sabre Pacific in Australia.

"The original TIAS strategy has evolved over the years to now include the sale of a wide range of travel services and products via global distribution systems and, increasingly, the Internet, and is no longer a core activity for the airline shareholders," said Mr Stevens.

The Managing Director of NAQ Technology, Mr Richard Eskell, said his company provided technology to the financial services industry, specialising in software and e-commerce solutions for the sale of insurance products by organisations including insurance companies and brokers, banks, mortgage lenders and financial planners.

NAQ has identified the travel industry as a key opportunity for the extension of their expertise and technology and TIAS provides the perfect opportunity to enter the market and provide the industry with leading edge technology.

"The key users of NAQ Technology are retailers of financial products and the key users of TIAS are retailers of travel products and therefore the technology needs and challenges of both customer groups are similar. The travel industry fits perfectly into our expansion strategies" said Mr Eskell. 

"We see TIAS, and the activities which it undertakes, as a natural extension of our activities, and the Integrator project as a major opportunity to increase the productivity of travel agents while reducing their operating costs - a vital consideration in this very competitive industry."

NAQ Technology is a public unlisted company, whose shareholders include technology development company Ceanet Pty Ltd and St George Bank.

Ceanet is a Sydney-based software development and service company founded in 1969 specialising in technical software solutions.

"We are well resourced and we are committed to developing TIAS as a major new division within our group," said Mr Eskell. "The synergies with our present business are remarkable and the ability for both businesses to contribute to all customer requirements will be extensive."

The current TIAS management group, headed by Chief Executive Mr Michael Small, will remain with the company under the new ownership, and the majority of personnel are expected to be retained.

The company is also expected to move from its current location at Bondi Junction to a new location in the CBD by mid-year.

The price of the acquisition is confidential between the partners.

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