American Express Global Business Travel has made a USD$570 million (around AUD$872 million) bid to acquire global business and meetings solutions provider CWT and expand its software and services offerings in the MICE and corporate travel space.
The agreement will see the acquisition close in the second half of 2024, increasing the corporate travel management company’s volume capabilities and profitability in a move that travel technology mergers and acquisitions expert Morgann Lesné said will put pressure on other major players.
“The acquisition will put increasing pressure on the likes of Travelperk and Navan, both of which will have to fight even harder to get to that level of scale that a giant like AmexGBT-CWT is about to become,” the Cambon Partners investment banker said.
After the acquisition closes, CWT customers can access Amex GBT’s travel and expense software and services, including Neo1, Neo and Egencia and its tech-integration software, Select.
They can also tap into the company’s meetings and events, consulting and sustainability solutions along with access to its comprehensive and competitive content, such as industry forecasting.
CWT currently has 4,000 global customers and is expected to generate USD$850 million (around AUD$1.3 billion) in revenue in 2024.
Amex GBT CEO Paul Abbott said: “Bringing CWT onto the proven Amex GBT software and services model will create more choice for customers, more opportunities for people and more value for shareholders.”
CWT CEO Patrick Andersen said: “Joining forces helps accelerate our vision of a tech-enabled future for business travel where people and technology combine to deliver an exceptional customer experience. We are highly confident in the value creation of the combined company.”
Find out more at amexglobalbusinesstravel.com/au
