Webjet Group has announced the acquisition of corporate travel technology company Locomote for $11 million.
The Australia-based travel company, whose brands include Webjet and TripNinja, said the acquisition would speed up its development of a business travel offering.
Locomote, which was founded in 2012 and is also based in Australia, is a corporate travel booking platform. The company has an interesting history with global distribution system (GDS) Travelport, initially acquiring a 49% stake in the company in 2014.
The GDS later upped that stake to 55% in 2015 only to return Locomote back to its founders in 2020 for an undisclosed sum.
Locomote then secured funding of $3 million two years later in a round that valued the company at £21 million at the time.
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Webjet recently highlighted the development of a business travel offering as part of its strategic growth plan to double transaction value over the next five years.
"A tailored business travel offering would build on Webjet Group’s current exposure to the business travel market by delivering a distinct offering to address demand for a seamless digital experience," the company said.
It added that the acquisition would enable it to deliver its business travel offering three years ahead of the previously anticipated time frame.
An additional $4 million deferred earn-out will be payable to Locomote shareholders in three years subject to EBITDA targets.
“Webjet Group currently services business travelers in an unstructured capacity and this acquisition will allow us to serve customers in a more structured way, particularly as their needs grow more complex. Our initial plan involved significant capital investment to organically develop our existing technology to meet business travel needs. The acquisition of Locomote, with its secure purpose-built technology, positions us to swiftly provide a distinct business travel offering, avoiding any lengthy development phase and at a lower overall cost," said Katrina Barry, Webjet Group’s CEO and managing director.
Locomote will become Webjet Business Travel and all staff, including co-founder and CEO Ross Fastuca, are expected to remain with the business.