SoftBank-backed travel tech firm TravelPerk acquires U.S. rival and bags $135 million for expansion

LONDON — TravelPerk, a European corporate travel booking platform, told CNBC on Tuesday it has acquired Chicago-based startup AmTrav to help further its expansion in the U.S.

AmTrav, which operates in the same space as TravelPerk, will continue to operate under the same brand and its entire team will continue with the business.

To help fund the deal and TravelPerk's broader expansion efforts, the company also raised $135 million in debt financing from private equity firms Blackstone and Blue Owl.

Avi Meir, TravelPerk's CEO and co-founder, told CNBC the deal would allow the company to turbocharge its growth in the United States. He expects the deal to double TravelPerk's U.S. revenues and make the country its biggest revenue-generating region by 2026.

"Currently, the U.K. is our biggest market," Meir said in an interview with CNBC, pointing to the firm's 2021 purchase of British corporate travel startup of Click Travel as the catalyst for its growth in Britain.

Going forward, Meir said, TravelPerk's takeover of AmTrav will help support a "deep localization strategy" in the U.S., and enable it to offer customers "better rates and inventory options through deeper relationships with suppliers."

AmTrav has long had data exchange arrangements in place with airline giants American Airlines and Southwest, he added.

TravelPerk now has over 200 employees based in the U.S. and plans to grow its headcount there by a further 35% by the end of 2024. The company employs more than 1,200 people globally. Last year, the firm saw its U.S. revenues grow 65% year-over-year.

The Global Business Travel Association estimated that the US corporate travel sector was worth $329 billion in 2023.

TravelPerk said its U.S. office footprint would expand to