Corporate travel and expense management platform TripActions is heightening its presence in Europe through the acquisition of Berlin-based Comtravo.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but in total, TripActions has invested more than $400 million in Europe over the past year – including acquiring high-end travel management company Reed & Mackay as well as adding to its headcount and office locations.
With Comtravo, a TMC that serves the German, Austrian, Swiss and Scandinavian regions, TripActions says half of the company’s business is now in Europe and the United Kingdom. Overall, TripActions supports more than 7,500 customers and manages nearly $6 billion in total travel budgets across 94 countries.
Comtravo’s regional expertise and inventory including domestic rail, low-cost carriers and ancillary air travel supply will help TripActions position itself as a leader in the European market. TripActions will also see cost- and time-saving benefits from Comtravo’s invoicing and VAT technology.
“When we looked across the industry, it became clear that the TripActions Group is the best positioned to take the European market,” says Comtravo CEO Michael Riegel.
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“With our strong customer and supplier relations, Comtravo will focus on ensuring that the combined group has the best product offering in the region.”
Says TripActions co-founder and CEO Ariel Cohen: “TripActions is on the fast track to dominating travel and expense on a global scale. We have invested heavily across Europe over the past year and Comtravo is the perfect addition to build out our regional offering as the only truly global all-in-one travel, corporate card and expense management solution.”
The acquisition comes after a banner 2021 in which TripActions secured two massive funding rounds: a $155 million Series E round in January followed by a $275 Series F in October, valuing the company at $7.25 billion.
Previously, TripActions targeted European expansion via a minority investment from and strategic partnership with Lufthansa Group’s Lufthansa Innovation Hub. In December 2021, TripActions and Lufthansa announced the launch of a co-branded booking and management platform.
Also that month, TripActions launched its Liquid payment and expense management solution in the region.
Comtravo and its staff, including Riegel and chief product officer Jannik Wässa, who co-founded the company in 2015, will be fully absorbed into TripActions.
In 2017, Comtravo raised €8.5 million in Series A funding, as well as €9 million in January 2020. Its backers include Microsoft Venture Fund and Deutsche Bank.