American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) has entered a binding deal to acquire Egencia, Expedia Group’s corporate travel arm.
As part of the transaction, Expedia Group would become a shareholder in, and enter a long-term strategic commercial agreement with, AMEX GBT.
Together, GBT and Egencia would offer comprehensive technology and customer solutions across every segment of business travel. Teaming Egencia with GBT’s Supply MarketPlace – a source for content and experiences for business travellers – would give customers more choice and suppliers more access to business travelers.
Meanwhile, with both the Egencia platform and GBT’s Neo Technology Group, the business would be positioned to build the best solutions for the future of business travel.
Paul Abbott, AMEX GBT’s CEO, said that: “Egencia would be strengthened by GBT’s complementary technology, enterprise capabilities and cutting-edge content.”
He added that this deal would “create new opportunities for both multinational and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) clients, suppliers” and teams within both organisations.
Meanwhile, president of Expedia Business Services, Ariane Gori, said: “Expedia Group strongly believes in the robust return of travel, including in the corporate space. We’re excited about our potential ownership in GBT and our long-term arrangement to power Egencia and GBT, as we do for thousands of other travel companies.”
The proposed deal is subject to consultation by Expedia Group and Egencia with their applicable employee representatives, as well as customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals.
