American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) is exploring a sale “after a tough run on the stock market” according to a report from Bloomberg late last night that cited people familiar with the matter.
The travel management company is working with advisers and could attract interest from “other corporate-focused travel platforms and private equity suitors,” according to Bloomberg sources, though a sale is far from certain.
Amex GBT declined to address the report, telling BTN Europe only that, as a matter of policy, it does not comment on M&A rumors or speculation.
Shares in Amex GBT, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, were up 3% to $7.32 at close yesterday, but are down 20% from $9.16 at the start of the year.
Its Q3 earnings report revealed a significant boost in revenue and transactions following its acquisition of CWT, with revenue up 13% year-on-year to $674 million and transactions up 19%.
Excluding CWT’s figures, revenue was up 3% year on year in Q3 and transactions increased by 4%, which the company said was in line with expectations.
Total transaction value incorporating CWT’s business increased 23% year-on-year to $9.5 billion. Excluding CWT, the increase was 9% year over year.
Amex GBT went public in May 2022 via a special purpose acquisition company Apollo Strategic Growth Capital.
In September this year it completed the $540 million acquisition of CWT—some 17 months after first announcing its plans—and is now acting on the delivery of $155 million in “synergies” it expects to make within three years of sealing the deal.
A month later, on October 4, Amex GBT unveiled a “strategic alliance” with booking and expense specialist Concur that would see the launch of a new platform, called Complete, for joint customers of the companies. The development has left many travel managers and rival travel management companies assessing its impact on them and how it might affect their strategy moving forward.
*This article originally published in BTN.