24 August 2001
Evi S Diethelm, the main investor behind the Asian Trails companies, and Luzi A Matzig (right), originator of the Asian Trails idea, have negotiated a sales contract where Evi Diethelm will gradually transfer all of her shares and investments in Asian Trails to Luzi Matzig.
No financial details regarding the transaction were made available.
The sale will be implemented in several steps, and the overall deal will be concluded by mid-2003.
Among the first companies in which Evi Diethelm has already sold her shareholding and has resigned from both the board of directors and chairmanship is Asian Trails Thailand, headed by Matzig as managing director.
The press statement said that one of the reasons behind Evi Diethelm’s decision to sell her shareholdings in Asian Trails is “her concept of entering not only in long-term investments but also in medium-term ones in order to help new companies start their business and obtain a market share.
Thereafter, partners can opt to take over her stake in a management buyout.”
The Asian Trails vision was conceived in April 1999 by a consortium of shareholders, among them Matzig and Diethelm. Evi, whose great-grandfather founded the Diethelm trading company at the end of the 19th century, was the main investor behind Asian Trails. Matzig, with Diethelm Travel Thailand for 29 years, came up with the Asian Trails idea.
Within two years of operations, Asian Trails now has a network of companies covering most major Asian tourist destinations.