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TravelShark Secures $5 Million in Funding


World’s largest online travel network to continue expansion of content-rich global travel
sites and product offerings to hospitality companies and traveling consumers



SINGAPORE and Boulder, CO (June 28, 2011) – TravelShark (formerly Swiftrank), the leading global online travel network, today announced that it has closed a $5 million round of financing to further accelerate the company’s already impressive revenue growth and global sales since its public launch in 2010. The investment was made by DLA Holdings, a Singapore-based private equity firm. With the recent $5 million investment, TravelShark has raised a total of $8 million to date.

“This additional funding is a nod to the dramatic expansion that TravelShark has achieved in traffic and revenues across its global network of 12,000 travel sites, as well as the tremendous opportunity we have to further accelerate growth,” said Sue Heilbronner, CEO of TravelShark. “With this financing, we will invest in sales, marketing, and new product development to leverage our new consumer-friendly brand and our traction with travel suppliers and consumers.”

More than 600 hotels, hotel brands, hospitality companies, and interactive marketing agencies in more than 20 countries now participate in TravelShark’s Featured Hotel Program to promote global visibility and generate direct booking revenues at an attractive ROI.  Featured Hotel partners include Intercontinental Hotels Group, MGM Resorts, Highgate Holdings, TIG Global, and many others.

“We have increased our investment in TravelShark because we are excited about the company’s momentum, and we believe that the additional capital will fuel even more rapid growth,” said David Leppan, Chairman of DLA Holdings. “TravelShark is providing a new direct online distribution channel to hotels and other travel verticals, and with the new brand in place, the company is looking to extend its offerings beyond travel suppliers to consumers with a host of timely new products.”

For more information, please visit http://www.TravelShark.com.

About TravelShark | TravelShark (formerly Swiftrank) is the world’s largest online travel network, with more than 12,000 location-based travel websites for destinations around the globe. TravelShark’s optimized websites facilitate transactions from more than 100 countries, generating profitable revenue for travel companies by driving direct bookings to hotels, resorts, spas, and more through its Featured Hotel Program.  The TravelShark network includes major-market, content-rich sites like www.LasVegasHotels.com, www.SingaporeHotels.com.sg, and www.HotelLondon.com. TravelShark is headquartered in Singapore, with a U.S. office in Boulder, Colorado. To learn more about how TravelShark can work for your property or travel company, please visit www.travelshark.com, call toll-free 866-308-7265 or +1-720-239-1285.

About DLA Holdings is a Singapore-based private equity firm headed by seasoned executive David Leppan. Mr. Leppan founded World-Check, the leading global provider of highly structured risk intelligence, in 2000. In 2011, after four years in which Mr. Leppan served as Chairman, the company was sold to Thomson Reuters in May 2011. DLA Holdings also is the lead investor in Wealth-X, a service-based intelligence tool that connects private wealth managers, luxury brands, not-for-profits and education professionals to 150,000+ ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals around the world.
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Contact:

Samantha Lee
Swiftrank
+1 (720) 239-1286
[email protected]

Andrea Roland
Plan A PR
+1 (407) 905-0608
[email protected]


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Also See: TravelShark Unleashed at HITEC 2011; World’s largest online travel network sinks its teeth into the industry’s premier annual hospitality technology trade show with debut of new corporate identity / June 2011

Swiftrank Changes Name to TravelShark Because It’s a Better Name; In a corporate "aha" moment, online travel startup sheds old name for much cooler name and gets a mascot, t-shirts, and really pumped employees / June 2011

Global Travel Network Swiftrank Ranks On List Of Hottest Online Travel Companies; MomentumIndex declares travel-planning company a ‘Start-Up We Like.’ / May 2011

Swiftrank Expands Presence in Middle Eastern Markets With New ‘Featured Hotel’ Clients in Israel; Dan Hotels Israel, Rimonim Hotels & Resorts, and Inbal Jerusalem Hotel join network of 12,000 location-based travel sites / May 2011

Swiftrank Expands Asia Pacific Footprint with New Hotel Clients in China, India; Online travel network drives 25% of its global business in the rapidly expanding Asia market / April 2011

Swiftrank Bolsters Executive Team With Seasoned Travel Technology Executives; New CEO and SVP boost world’s largest network of international travel websites, help prepare for further growth / March 2011

Swiftrank Migrates to Amazon Web Services Cloud, Maximizing Speed and Reliability for 12,000-Site Global Hotel Network; World’s largest network of leading international travel websites scales dynamically with AWS infrastructure web services platform to support exponential growth / March 2011

Swiftrank Launches 13 Major-Market Travel Sites With Enhanced User Functionality and Performance-Based Marketing For Hoteliers / January 2011


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