Grupo Julia, a Spanish transportation and travel services group, expanded its presence in the Northern California market through a joint venture between its wholly owned California subsidiary, Blue Bus Tours LLC, and some local tour operators. The purpose of the joint venture is to operate the sightseeing business of the licensor of the “City Sightseeing” brand (and related reseller partners) in the San Francisco area. The transaction involved the negotiation and execution of a series of complex license, resale and lease agreements with the licensor, former licensees and resellers operating the business. The transaction closed in February of 2018. RC Law acted for Grupo Julia whereas opposite counsel was Saretsky, Katz & Dranoff LLP, of New York. The transaction follows the acquisition by Grupo Julia of two other San Francisco operators back in 2015.
