The business travel industry's merger and acquisition activity in
2021, while arguably less intense than some predictions had
foretold, was nevertheless lively, particularly in the travel
management company sector. American Express Global Business Travel's
acquisition of Egencia and TripActions' takeover of Reed & Mackay – remarkably announced on consecutive days – were some of the
largest of the year, joining several other notable deals. A number of other trends permeated industry M&A activity in 2021.
Rise of the SPAC
Several companies, most notably Amex GBT and Cvent,
announced their intentions to become publicly traded companies not
through initial public offerings of stock but through mergers with
special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). These organisations are already public,
having registered with regulatory bodies like the US Securities and
Exchange Commission, and shares of the SPAC are available to buy.
Companies like Sonder, Gett, Wheels Up, HotelPlanner.com and Rocketrip
parent Mondee also announced SPAC merger plans in 2021.
Tech companies call it a day
Continuing
a trend that notably accelerated in 2020 amid the pandemic, several
smaller venture capital-backed independent technology companies sold to
larger firms, including Pana, Lola, Roadmap, Troovo and Shep.
TMCs beef up tech offerings
And on
a related note, several travel management companies turned to
acquisitions to bolster their technology toolboxes, including Flight
Centre's December deal to acquire Shep and TravelPerk's deal to acquire
NexTravel.
The following stories covering mergers, acquisitions and business launches and closures were all published
by Business Travel News, BTN Europe and The Beat in 2021. Please note that reports in The Beat
require a subscription to access.
January 2021
Direct Travel agrees to acquire Short's Travel Management's corporate portfolio
Norwegian
to ground long-haul services permanently
Wheels
Up acquires Mountain Aviation
Meetingselect
acquires MICE Access
ATPCO
acquires SITA’s fare management system
TravelPerk
acquires NexTravel platform
Amex
GBT lands Ovation Travel Group
February 2021
Frosch
gets capital infusion from private equity firm EagleTree
Merger
to take Wheels Up public
March 2021
Baxter
Hoare ceases trading
ATPI
acquires German travel agency
Traveleads
acquires Omega Business Travel
Sonesta
completes acquisition of Red Lion Hotels
Vista
Global boosts US presence with Apollo Jets acquisition
Emburse
acquires Roadmap and DVI
Sonesta completes acquisition of Red Lion Hotels
Startup M&A flurry: Coupa buys Pana; Emburse snags Roadmap and DVI
Travelhire Group acquires private hire operator
Kayak for Business launch inspired by 'market shortcomings'
April 2021
Emerald
TMC ceases trading
HRS
acquires invoice management partner Itelya
Air
Canada drops Transat acquisition
Trams founder re-acquires assets from Sabre and plots next-gen system
May 2021
Global
Travel Management acquires Baxter Hoare assets
Amex GBT to acquire Egencia
TripActions
acquires Reed & Mackay
Good
Travel Management acquires Yorkshire’s Company Travel
Citibond
acquires Emerald TMC from administrators
Frosch
acquires Valerie Wilson Travel
Short-term
rental company Sonder to go public via SPAC
June 2021
Extended
Stay America shareholders OK take-over deal
Lufthansa
to sell AirPlus division
Aer
Lingus partner Stobart Air ceases trading
Bizzabo
buys two tech companies
Addison Lee acquires ComCab
July 2021
TravelPerk
acquires Click Travel
Kanoo
Travel ceases trading
August 2021
Serviced
apartments platform AG acquires Acomodeo
Intrado
acquires Hubb
Source: Shoflo acquisition preceded new Cvent Studio solution
September 2021
Former CTM duo launch premium TMC for SMEs
Direct Travel acquires McCord
Lola
ceases operations and touts ‘next phase’
TravelPerk
acquires sustainability consultancy Susterra
Collapsed
Jet Airways could be revived in 2022
SilverDoor
parent company acquires The Apartment Service
Cascade
agrees to acquire controlling stake in Four Seasons
Hotel
management companies Benchmark and Pyramid merge
EasyJet
rejects takeover offer
Voxel nabs v-pay automation provider Troovo
October 2021
Dutch
travel management associations explore merger
ArrangeMY
acquires events specialist Ellis Salsby
Global
Travel Management acquires assets of Flightline
Frosch
takes majority stake in Conlin Travel
Accor
and Ennismore complete joint venture deal
Alitalia
takes final flight
Lufthansa
and easyJet win backing to buy Air Berlin assets
SummitQwest
Ground to merge with ground company Hip Shuttle
Germany’s
FlixMobility buys US’s Greyhound buses
Re-emerging
Flybe appoints new CEO
Bizzabo
acquires TeeVid
Capital
One acquires Lola
November 2021
New TMC Equinox to serve music and entertainment clients
US
Bancorp to acquire TravelBank
Hyatt
completes acquisition of Apple Leisure Group
Gett
to go public on Nasdaq through SPAC
Amex
GBT completes acquisition of Egencia
December 2021
Cvent
completes SPAC deal and lists on Nasdaq
Etherio
Group acquires Meeting Expectations
Amex
GBT signs SPAC deal to go public
CTM
to acquire corporate and entertainment businesses of Helloworld
United
Airlines takes stake in ZeroAvia
IAG
drops Air Europa acquisition
National Express cements deal to buy Stagecoach
FCM parent company acquires Shep
Rocketrip parent company Mondee to go public via SPAC deal
Low-cost carrier Norse a step closer to taking off
Related: Who bought whom in 2020