American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) agreed to acquire its travel company rival CWT in a deal that valued CWT at approximately $570 million.
Amex GBT is one of the largest travel management companies in the world, generating over $2.3 billion of revenue in 2023 and had 19,000 employees in 2022. The company was spun out from American Express as a joint venture with an investor group back in 2014 and provides a B2B travel platform that helps companies manage their travel, meetings and events. Founded in 1994, CWT is also one of the largest travel management companies in the industry serving over 4,000 customers and generating approximately $850 million of revenue every year.
“Joining forces with Amex GBT helps accelerate our vision of a tech-enabled future for business travel, where people and technology combine to deliver an exceptional customer experience,” said Patrick Andersen, CWT’s CEO, in a press release. “We are highly confident in the value creation of the combined company.”
The deal first must be approved by shareholders and regulatory authorities and is expected to close sometime later this year. The acquisition would also allow CWT’s clients to gain access to Amex GBT’s products and services, including Neo1 and Select, along with a broad portfolio of professional, consulting, sustainability and content services.
“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,” added Paul Abbott, Amex GBT’s CEO.
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