The battle for Tourism Holdings: Round two
Thursday, 25 June 2026
Tourism Holdings (THL) could be facing a bidding war, after it confirmed a second, unknown buyer wants to acquire the business ‒ but it’s no surprise as the climate’s right for takeover activity, experts say.
On Thursday, THL announced on the NZX it had received a non-binding indicative offer of $3.30 to $3.40 a share from “a credible strategic buyer”. That offer would value the company at between $730 million and $752m.
It comes as the campervan giant continued negotiations with Melbourne-based private equity firm BGH Capital (BGH) and the family interests of Luke and Karl Trouchet over an acquisition bid launched in May.
That offer was for $3.10 a share, which was an increase on the $2.30 per share the Australian consortium offered in a failed takeover bid last year.
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In the announcement on the new offer, THL chair Cathy Quinn said the board had agreed to grant access to the unknown buyer to undertake due diligence under an appropriate confidentiality agreement.
“The granting of due diligence access does not constitute a recommendation by the Board, and no decision has been made to proceed with any transaction.”
There was no certainty that either the new offer, or the BGH consortium’s offer would result in a transaction, she said.
The new offer was subject to the satisfactory completion of due diligence, final board approval, obtaining required third-party consents and regulatory approvals, the announcement said.
It was also conditional on the THL board unanimously recommending shareholders accept the proposal.
Craigs Investment Partners financial analyst Mo Singh said any board would like to have two competitive bids, especially when a new bid came in much higher than the existing one.
“It is a positive development for shareholders, because the BHG bid was starting to look reasonably attractive, given THL’s trading update last month which was a bit soft.”
While THL’s share price rose to around $2.90 on Thursday, up from about $2.50-60 following the earlier bid, it was still trading about 15% down from the offer price, and that was due to uncertainty, he said.
“There’s some waiting to go, so it’s early days yet but as it goes on, and if an offer becomes binding the share price will likely track up.”
It did not surprise him that THL had received another offer as it was a global business, and had been going through some tough times, with sales on big ticket items like campervans slow.
But the company’s rental business had held up, and there was light at the economic tunnel, in terms of geopolitics and the inflation impact, Singh said.
“The weak New Zealand dollar weak means overseas buyers look at New Zealand assets as going cheaply, and move in. That’s typical in periods when people can also see the economy tightening up down the track.
“These are conditions ripe for a flurry of merger and acquisition activity, which is something we saw a couple of years ago too. It’s not unusual.”
If the bids proceeded, shareholders would have to weigh up the value of instant gratification in the form of money up from where the sale price was tracking, or holding on for however long it takes for the business to get back to that level, he said.
“A takeover would see the company delisted, which is not great for our capital market - but that is the nature of the beast.
“We aren’t seeing many IPOs, and a few stocks are getting picked off, and in this environment we see that continuing with stocks that are out of favour with investors.”
The flipside was that New Zealand companies had been doing a fair bit of buying of their own too, he said.
For New Zealand Shareholders Association chief executive Oliver Mander, the new offer highlighted the value of good expectation setting around offers for the market.
With last year’s offer, the THL board did an “excellent” job of specifying the value they would become interested in an offer, and that was well north of $3 a share, he said.
“The BHG consortium came back with an offer slightly above $3, a point at the lower end of the board’s expectations, and now there’s another offer and more competition.
“An offer to takeover is the ultimate arbiter of value. If a company is materially undervalued on the listed market a takeover bid is the likely outcome, so this situation is not surprising.”
THL had been recovering after some bumpy years, and there was still upside for it as the sale of its UK division would assist the portfolio, and due to the tourism sector’s recovery in New Zealand and globally, he said.
“People see value in that, and the exchange rate plays a part too. Overseas companies can pay less in New Zealand in their currency while still offering a decent price for shareholders.”
Mander said if a formal takeover offer eventuated, the association would look at the board’s recommendations, and take a position on value, but there was no guarantee an offer would go through.
Tourism Holdings became the world’s largest commercial campervan rental operator in 2022 after acquiring its largest rival Australia’s Apollo Tourism & Leisure.
In New Zealand and Australia it owns the Maui, Britz, Apollo, Mighty, Hippie, and Cheapa Campa rental brands, and it also owns rental brands in North America.
It is involved in manufacturing and travel technology, and operates several tourism businesses in New Zealand, including Waitomo Glowworm Caves and Kiwi Experience.