American Express Global Business Travel has agreed to merge with "blank-check" special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Apollo Strategic Growth Capital in a deal that would take the company public with a $5.3 billion valuation.
The combination is expected to close in the first half of 2022, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals. The company said the move would create the world's largest publicly traded business-to-business travel platform.
The merged entity plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under "GBTG" which reflects its new name Global Business Travel Group, Inc. However, the B2B travel agency will continue to conduct day-to-day business under its existing name and brand American Express Global Business Travel thanks to an 11-year deal that will allow the company to use the trademark for both its business travel and meetings and events divisions.
The merger is expected to raise up to $1.2 billion in gross proceeds. New investors include Zoom, Sabre, Ares Management Corporation and investment advisor HG Vora. Upon the transaction closing, they will join American Express Company, Expedia Group and travel investment specialist Certares as shareholders.
In addition, GBT has obtained commitments for an additional $1 billion term loan facility to be established under its existing credit agreement to repay approximately $600 million of certain existing term loan facilities and to provide an incremental $400 million of financing for general corporate purposes, including to backstop potential redemptions.
GBT CEO Paul Abbott said in a statement: “Becoming a public company will be a historic milestone on GBT’s growth journey. Commitments from new investors like Zoom, Sabre, Apollo, Ares and HG Vora are a huge vote of confidence in our business and the future of business travel, and meetings and events. We expect that becoming a listed company will give us the additional investment capacity to strengthen our commitment to providing unrivalled value, choice and experiences to our customers and partners.” Abbott will retain his position in the new company.
“American Express Global Business Travel is an industry leader with an incredible brand, strong management team and highly strategic shareholder base," Apollo partner Itai Wallach said via the company announcement. "This combination is an exciting and unique opportunity to support a leading company with strong staying power and the opportunity to accelerate its growth as a public company.”
The announcement to go public via a SPAC partnership rounds out a busy year for GBT, which began in January with the acquisition of Ovation Travel Group. In May, the company announced it had hammered out a deal with Expedia Group to acquire the company's corporate travel division Egencia.
The deal closed in November and, specifically, brought new platforms into the mix at GBT and will allow the company to give more focus to the small- and midsize client segment. The Expedia deal also came with an expanded long-term content comment for Expedia to provide accommodations content to Amex GBT's Supply Marketplace.
Other SPAC deals in the industry this year include Wheels Up, which went public in February, Gett and Cvent, which announced its SPAC merger plans in July and is ready to list on the Nasdaq on 9 December, CEO Reggie Aggarwal told BTN. SPAC mergers have become a popular manoeuvre for going public during the pandemic as they allow companies to forego traditional IPO processes and expedite desired results.