The News

Travel Meta Search receives financing round from Sofinnova Partners and Walden International

28/08/2006

Singapore and Paris, 28 August 2006 –Travel Meta Search Pte Ltd (TMS), a new generation metasearch engine that enables European and Asian Internet users to find accurate and price-competitive offers to buy airline tickets, hotel rooms, car rentals, holiday packages, cruises and vacation rentals, has received a €8 million (US.2 million) round of financing led by France’s Sofinnova Partners and joined by Walden International, the venture capital firm headquartered in San Francisco with a strong presence throughout Asia.

Travel Meta Search is a new start-up resulting from the merger last June of two major travel internet search engine companies: Coelis, based in Strasbourg, and Fare.Net, based in Singapore. TMS’s new web site, which will offer advanced “Web 2.0” user participation features, will be announced shortly. The Website will be based on both companies technology and in particular Coelis’s “shopbot” software. TMS’s website will enable the user to search major airlines, online travel agencies, travel wholesalers and low-cost airlines (LCA). As a result, travellers can compare all the market fares and find the absolute lowest airfares within and from Asia Pacific and Europe on one convenient website without having to consult dozens of different websites.

Travel search remains one of the main applications in the consumer Internet space. In 2008/9, online advertising by the travel industry worldwide is estimated to reach billion to billion, with billion to billion coming from online search. While first-generation online travel agencies (OTA), offered the convenience of virtual “one-stop” travel shops, new generation search tools such as TMS match consumers’ appetite for open choice, access to all market prices and direct access to the inventory of travel suppliers. The new generation also meets the growing need of travel operators for a low-cost, more efficient marketing channel for their services.

Asia, including India and China, offers enormous potential for TMS because of the fast growth of both air travel and Internet usage in this region, while in Europe, a more mature market, there is demand by travellers for accurate and precise local and international data and prices.

“Vertical search and the immediate move to Asia with a strong technology platform developed both in France and Singapore make this investment in TMS a unique opportunity to establish an exciting, fast-growing venture, says Olivier Protard, Managing Partner at Sofinnova Partners, which initiated the financing project. “The addition of Walden International, a strong Asian venture capital fund, to the syndicate reinforces our belief that we can make TMS the world’s leading travel search engine.”

“There is enormous potential in Asia for a new travel portal such as TMS,” says Hock Voo Loo, Managing Director, Walden International. “We believe both Asian and European Internet users will be attracted by TMS’s revolutionary approach to online travel search. Walden is pleased to join this financing round, which will accelerate TMS’s development in two strategic geographical regions.”

“We are delighted to welcome Sofinnova and Walden as investors in TMS. This round of financing is a great vote of confidence in our technological achievements, business vision and strong management team. It brings us not only a strong reinforcement to our financial base but also two well established business partners, which will help us take advantage of the huge opportunities we see throughout Asia Pacific and Europe, “says Pascal Bordat, CEO of TMS.

“We are convinced that both leisure and business travellers in those regions and beyond will come to consider TMS to be an indispensable tool in planning their travels.” TMS’s management team will be led by Mr Bordat. He has some 20 years experience in ecommerce and online travel, having lead and co-founded prominent e-commerce travel portals, such as ZUJI, in Asia-Pacific, Travelprice.com and amadeus.net in Europe. The team will also benefit from the experience of Michael Thomas, former CEO and founder of OneTravel.com, who will act as Chairman of the Board.

For further information, please contact:
Madeleine Resener
Media Relations, Sofinnova Partners
Tel:+33 (0) 6 20 41 39 82
mresener@sofinnova.fr

Pascal Bordat
CEO, Travel Meta Search Pte Ltd
Tel: +33 (0)3 8832 2265
Tel: +65 9783 7585
pascal@fare.net
pascal.bordat@coelis.com

About Travel Meta Search
Established in June 2006 as a merger of two leading travel Internet search engines, Travel Meta Search Pte Ltd (TMS) is the first online travel search company that allows travellers in both Asia Pacific and Europe to compare the most complete set of travel products and find the absolute lowest airfares, including those of low cost carriers, without having to visit multiple travel websites. TMS’s new web site is designed to become an indispensable travel planning tool that will help business and leisure travellers save valuable time and money.

About Sofinnova Partners
Founded in Paris in 1972, Sofinnova Partners is one of Europe's leading independent venture capital firms. With €900 million under management, Sofinnova Partners invests in start-ups and early-stage companies in information technology and life sciences. Its investment strategy consists of investing early in teams and projects with high potential, most often acting as lead or co-lead investor. Sofinnova Partners also benefits from a long-established relationship with its sister company in San Francisco, Sofinnova Ventures. Sofinnova Partners’ teams consist of 13 professionals who bring market insight and technical expertise to portfolio companies. For further information, please visit http://www.sofinnova.fr/.

About Walden International
Walden International ("WI") is a leading international venture capital firm that has been providing investors access to early stage, cross-border, IT opportunities with the advantage of an unrivaled Pan Asia network since 1987. The firm's funds total over US.6 billion in committed capital. WI's network of multi-cultural professionals spans China/Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and the United States. With over 100 years of combined experience, WI's investment team has funded leading technology companies including Creative Technology (SGX: CREAF), Ikanos (NASDAQ: IKAN), Leadis Technology (NASDAQ: LDIS), SINA (NASDAQ: SINA), SiRF (NASDAQ: SIRF), and SMIC (NYSE: SMI and HKSE: 0981.HK). With 9 offices throughout Asia and the United States, the firm
has extensive network relationships with major institutions, Asian governmental entities,
strategic investors, and entrepreneurs throughout the Pan Asia region. For additional
information, please visit http://www.waldenintl.com/.