Kelsian secures $161 million for tourism portfolio sale
Kelsian Group has signed a binding agreement to sell its Tourism Portfolio to Journey Beyond for $161 million in cash. The Kelsian Tourism Portfolio Divestment marks the execution of a strategic shift first announced in April 2025, when the company confirmed its intention to exit experiential tourism and focus exclusively on contracted transport operations. The transaction is structured on a cash and debt free basis with customary working capital adjustments, and completion is expected during the first half of financial year 2027.
This deal represents the culmination of a portfolio review process initiated in October 2024. Following a competitive sales process that attracted multiple domestic and international bidders, Kelsian has now formalised agreements with Journey Beyond, a well-established Australian experiential tourism operator managing 19 brands across Australia and New Zealand.
What the tourism portfolio includes
The Tourism Portfolio comprises high-quality experiential tourism businesses operating across seven Australian states and territories. Journey Beyond will acquire a diverse range of ferry services, island resorts, river cruises, and harbour operations that collectively serve both tourist and commuter markets. The assets span from World Heritage-listed K’gari (formerly Fraser Island) in Queensland to the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory, representing significant geographic diversification within Australia’s tourism sector.
| Business | Location | Key Operations |
|---|---|---|
| K’gari (Fraser Island) | Queensland | Ferry services to two island resorts, sightseeing tours, Kingfisher Bay Resort, K’gari Beach Resort, K’gari Explorer Tours |
| SeaLink Sydney Harbour / Captain Cook Cruises | New South Wales | Harbour lunch, dinner and sightseeing cruises, private charters, commuter ferry services to Lane Cove and Watsons Bay, Hop-On-Hop-Off services |
| Murray Princess | South Australia | 3, 5 and 7 night scenic cruises along Murray River on authentic paddle-wheeler |
| Adelaide Sightseeing | South Australia | Coach tours to Barossa, Kangaroo Island, Hahndorf, Adelaide, Victor Harbour |
| SeaLink Western Australia | Western Australia | Rottnest Island ferries from Perth CBD and Fremantle, Swan River cruises, Swan Valley coach tours |
| SeaLink Whitsundays | Queensland | Full-day cruises, reef snorkelling tours, jet ski experiences, passenger ferry services to Hayman Island |
| SeaLink Tasmania | Tasmania | Bruny Island ferry services |
| SeaLink Northern Territory | Northern Territory | Tiwi Islands services, Darwin-Mandorah ferry, Groote Eylandt ferry and bus services |
The breadth of these operations demonstrates the quality and scale of the assets being monetised. For investors, this geographic spread reduces single-market risk within the tourism segment being divested, potentially supporting transaction valuation.
How Kelsian plans to use the proceeds
The $161 million in net proceeds will be deployed in line with Kelsian’s Capital Management and Allocation Framework, published in February 2025. The company has outlined a disciplined capital allocation strategy focused on two priorities: accelerating debt reduction and selectively investing in attractive growth opportunities within its core transport operations.
On a pre-AASB16 basis, the Tourism Portfolio generated $23.7 million in underlying EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) for the 12 months to 31 December 2025. Following completion of the divestment, Kelsian’s pro forma leverage is expected to fall within the company’s target range of 2.0 to 2.5x underlying EBITDA, strengthening the balance sheet whilst preserving capacity for strategic investment.
The company has confirmed that FY26 underlying EBITDA guidance remains unchanged, indicating the divestment was factored into forward planning.
Management commentary
Graeme Legh, CEO, Kelsian Group
“We are delighted to have reached this agreement with Journey Beyond who are a well-known Australian experiential tourism group. I would like to acknowledge in particular our Marine & Tourism teams and thank them for the professionalism and dedication shown since we announced the intention to divest the Tourism Portfolio in April 2025. On completion of the transaction, Kelsian will emerge as a leading global transport business delivering contracted marine, bus and motorcoach operations.”
Conditions and timeline for completion
The transaction remains subject to standard regulatory approvals and contractual consents before completion can occur. Kelsian has stated it expects to satisfy these conditions during the first half of FY27, though specific timelines will depend on regulatory processes.
Key conditions precedent include:
- Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) approval
- Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval
- Change of control consents for key contracts and authorisations
- Other customary conditions for a transaction of this nature
These requirements represent a standard regulatory pathway for an asset sale of this scale. No unusual hurdles or complications have been flagged by either party, and the involvement of established advisers (Macquarie Capital and Gresham Advisory Partners as joint financial advisers, with Kain Lawyers providing legal counsel) suggests a well-structured transaction process.
What is a strategic portfolio divestment?
A strategic portfolio divestment involves selling non-core business units to refocus operations on areas where a company believes it can generate superior returns. This approach allows management to simplify the corporate structure, making it easier for investors to understand and value the business whilst reducing operational complexity.
For Kelsian, this transaction represents a deliberate shift from a diversified transport and tourism conglomerate to a pure-play global transport operator. By exiting experiential tourism, the company can redeploy capital into contracted transport services, which typically offer more predictable cash flows and long-term government or corporate contracts. This strategy aligns with the Capital Management and Allocation Framework released in February 2025, which emphasised balance sheet optimisation and selective growth investment.
Portfolio simplification also reduces management bandwidth requirements. Running ferry services to tourist destinations requires different operational expertise and faces different demand cycles compared to contracted urban bus networks or essential commuter ferry routes. By concentrating resources on contracted transport, Kelsian aims to improve operational efficiency and strategic clarity.
Kelsian’s future as a focused transport operator
Following completion of the Kelsian Tourism Portfolio Divestment, the company will operate as a pure-play global transport business. With over 30 years of operational experience, Kelsian connects people and places across complex urban and regional networks spanning five jurisdictions: Australia, the United Kingdom, Singapore, the United States, and the Channel Islands.
The company’s operational scale positions it as a significant player in contracted passenger transport:
- 12,900+ employees globally
- 6,115 buses in operation
- 126 vessels (retaining essential commuter ferry services)
- 384 million customer journeys delivered annually
Kelsian’s core businesses include Transit Systems, one of Australia’s largest public bus operators; All Aboard America! Holdings (AAAHI), the second-largest motorcoach operator in the United States; and Tower Transit, which operates bus franchising models in the UK and Singapore. The company will retain SeaLink’s essential commuter ferry operations, distinguishing these contracted services from the discretionary tourism assets being divested.
Kelsian has also positioned itself as a leader in low and zero-emission transport technology, a factor that may support future contract wins as governments accelerate decarbonisation targets. For investors, the post-divestment structure offers exposure to a contracted, essential services transport business with global scale, reduced earnings volatility, and alignment with sustainability trends in public transport procurement.
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