American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) agreed to acquire global business travel and meetings solutions provider CWT for $570 million.
The planned acquisition would offer CWT’s 4,000 customers access to the Amex GBT ecosystem and create about $850 million in revenue, the companies said in a Monday (March 25) press release. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
“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,” Amex GBT CEO Phil Abbott said.
Amex GBT, which is operated by Global Business Travel Group, supplies B2B software and services for travel, expense, and meetings and events, according to the release. Its portfolio covers meetings and events, consulting and sustainability solutions, while its marketplace offers access to a range of other offerings, the release said.
If the acquisition closes, CWT customers would have access to Amex GBT’s software and services for travel and expense — Neo 1, Neo and Egencia — and its solution that allows customers to integrate with technology partners, Select.
For Amex GBT and CWT, the planned transaction would deliver about $155 million in synergies and greater capacity for investment in software and services, per the release.
“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,” CWT CEO Patrick Andersen said. “We are highly confident in the value creation of the combined company.”
More small- to medium-sized business (SMB) customers are recognizing the value of managed travel, Amex GBT executives told investors March 5 during the company’s quarterly earnings call.
“[SMB] new wins for 2023 totaled $2.2 billion, a record for our business, and were up $100 million year over year,” Abbott said during the call. “Of this, approximately 30% has come from previously unmanaged customers who are looking for the service savings and control that our solutions provide. This is 5 percentage points higher than our mix of unmanaged new wins in 2022.”
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