Mergers and acquisitions tips

Travel tech holding company Travelsoft Group said today that it has acquired Eventiz Media Group, publisher of French travel trade magazine L’Echo Touristique, which was founded in 1934. 

Many Japanese have liked to buy timeshares in the U.S. — especially in Hawaii — as an alternative to investing in a Japanese stock market that has produced poor returns for decades. But with the Japanese yen at a 36-year low against the dollar, that trend has reversed.

DerbySoft, a hotel distribution tech company, is expanding into the airline industry through the acquisition of Pkfare. 

It’s been two months since Liberty Tripadvisor announced it was exploring a potential sale of itself and Tripadvisor, which it controls. Tripadvisor, in turn, formed an independent committee to vet any deals.

Hilton said Wednesday it had acquired a majority controlling interest in Sydell Group, the owner of NoMad Hotels.

Executives of Amex GBT had an investor call Monday shortly after it announced plans to acquire CWT for $570 million.

Amex GBT plans to acquire CWT for about $570 million, a deal that would combine two of the industry’s largest corporate travel companies. 

Accor’s hotel tech subsidiary, D-Edge, has acquired LoungeUp as a way to expand its group of products. Price and terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

Busbud, an online marketplace for intercity bus and train tickets, is expanding its presence in Brazil through the acquisition of Buson. 

Amadeus envisions a future where its facial-recognition technology could be used throughout a passenger’s journey at the airport: check-in, bag drop and tracking, boarding, border control, and more.

Hilton will spend $210 million to acquire Graduate Hotels, a hotel brand that builds and runs 33 hotels near U.S. and U.K. universities, it said Thursday. The brand caters to college alumni, students, and communities with hip, nostalgic-themed design and campus-centric amenities.

Choice Hotels on Monday dropped its $8 billion hostile takeover bid for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts it launched last October.

Amadeus has acquired Voxel, which provides digital products that travel companies can use to complete payments from consumers.

Choice Hotels created a storm last October when it went public with a hostile takeover bid for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. It is giving Wyndham stockholders until Friday to tender their shares.

TravelAI has purchased and relaunched Casai.com, the domain of the short-term rental operator startup that closed last July after raising more than $48 million. 

Culture Trip, the travel media company that raised roughly $155 million, sold its website and group tour business to the U.S. News & World Report.

How many times was “churn” mentioned in Vacasa’s earnings call? 16 times, noted one executive in the short-term rental industry (and, yes, we counted too). 

Tripadvisor said Monday it was reviewing a potential sale of the company to Liberty Tripadvisor, which has long held a controlling stake in the travel reviews site.

Expedia Group frequently talks up the benefits of its sale of corporate travel agency Egencia to American Express Global Business Travel. Benefits include: A 10-year pact to supply Amex GBT with lodging inventory, and Expedia’s equity stake in it, initially valued in 2021 at $815 million.

Amadeus is expanding its biometrics services for airports through the acquisition of Vision-Box for $347.7 million (€320 million).

Mews, the growing hotel tech startup, has made its eighth acquisition.