LASTMINUTE.com plans to establish sites in Australia and New Zealand following a joint-venture agreement with Australian Internet company travel.com.au.
Under the deal, travel.com.au will contribute an undisclosed capital investment in exchange for shares in the joint-venture company, while lastminute.com will provide design and technical services in exchange for its shares.
Travel.com.au is the majority shareholder but the exact stakes of the partners have not been revealed.
The Australian company will provide the management of the joint venture but the two new sites will be branded under the lastminute name.
The co-founder and chief executive officer of lastminute.com Brent Hoberman said: “Our joint venture with travel.com.au is the next step in our global strategy.
“We are looking forward to expanding the lastminute.com brand and developing a service in a market that is Internet-savvy.”
Lastminute.com, which was founded in 1998 and floated on the London Stock Exchange last week, already sells travel and entertainment in the UK, Germany, France and Sweden. It claims to have more than 1.1m subscribers in Europe.