Aussies return with richer bid to take Tourism Holdings private
Friday, 29 May 2026
A little over a year from its first offer for the company, a consortium of Australian tourism entrepreneurs have once more launched a bid to acquire Tourism Holdings (THL).
The ASX and NZX-listed Kiwi company - the largest commercial RV rental operator in the world - said this morning it had received a revised and non-binding “indication of interest” from Melbourne-based private equity firm BGH Capital (BGH) and the family interests of Luke and Karl Trouchet for the acquisition of THL.
The Trouchets and BGH currently hold approximately 19.9% of the shares in THL. They have offered $3.10 per share for the company, valuing it at about $686 million.
Read more:
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In June last year the same group offered to buy the company for $2.30 per share, valuing the company at the time at $471m. As a result of that bid, Luke Trouchet stepped away from his THL board seat to see the offer through.
In August, the independent board of THL formerly rejected the takeover offer, labelling it as “opportunistic” and “significantly undervaluing the company's long-term strategic roadmap”.
The failed attempt to buy the company out saw Trouchet step down and vacate his seat on the board entirely.
Now back with the revised, and more generous offer, the parties have sought to be allowed due diligence access, and holders of about 16% of the company’s shares not held by the consortium have indicted they want that to happen.
“The board will act in what it considers to be the best interests of the company and all its shareholders, including assessing the merits of this revised [bid] and whether to engage further with the consortium (including as to whether to grant due diligence access),” the company said in a statement.
The revised offer will expire by end of play June 12 if THL has not responded by then. It is also subject to the usual various legal and regulatory hurdles.
The Trouchet brothers are sons of the founders of Australia’s Apollo Tourism & Leisure, was for years a rival RV rental, retail, and manufacturing company to Tourism Holdings across Australasia. In 2022 Apollo and Tourism Holdings merged, and Luke joined THL as an executive director, while his family became major shareholders.
Softer year-end forecast
In another statement to the exchange this morning, Tourism Holdings downgraded its profit guidance for the full year as a result of global disruptions to international travel and the broader softening of consumer confidence.
However, the effects of the current Middle East conflict on vehicle sales, softer conditions in the Australian domestic rental business, and foreign exchange movements meant the company expected underlying net profit after tax (excluding its recently diverse UK and Ireland business) to be in the range of $40 million to $43m.
At the half-year announcement in February, this was to be $43m - $47m.
The company said geopolitical and macroeconomic developments, together with softer consumer confidence, had impacted vehicle sales across all the company’s markets since the Iran war started, even while underlying customer interest in recreational vehicles remained positive.
“However, the broader uncertainty has resulted in a reluctance by consumers to commit to purchase decisions in the current environment.”
The year-end debt position of the company would worsen, and likely end in the range of $460m-$470m. At its half-year results, THL forecast net debt would fall below $400 million by the fiscal year-end.
The company said it remained comfortably within all of its existing banking covenants.
With major international travel trade shows in the last three weeks having concluded, THL said there were positive signs for RV travel and strong interest in the upcoming summer market in Canada, although the US was a slightly different story - “the degree of recovery, and the extent of any growth, into calendar 2027 remain uncertain at this stage.
“In Australia, the domestic rental business has been impacted in the short term by concerns around fuel costs and softer consumer confidence. As with New Zealand, the strength of the coming summer will depend on long haul flight prices and capacity.
“The destination itself continues to be highly desired by international visitors, which underpins THL’s medium term confidence in this market.”
If the situation with the current Middle East conflict continued beyond the next few weeks, there is the potential for a more significant impact on the New Zealand and Australia summer, the company added.
THL operates rentals brands including Maui, Britz, Apollo, and others across Australasia, retail brands like Kea and Winnebago, retail dealerships like the RV Super Centre and Apollo RV Sales and tourism attractions including Kiwi Experience and the Discover Waitomo Group, which includes Waitomo Glowworm Caves, Ruakuri Cave, Aranui Cave and The Legendary Black Water Rafting Co.
In North America, THL operates the Road Bear RV, El Monte RV, CanaDream, Britz and Mighty rental brands.