American Express Global Business Travel has finally completed its long-running acquisition of fellow travel management company CWT ¨C 17 months after the deal was originally announced.
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Amex GBT has acquired CWT in a transaction worth $540 million, which was reduced earlier this year from the original valuation of $570 million in March 2024.
Paul Abbott, CEO of Amex GBT, said: "Today marks the start of an exciting relationship with CWT customers. We will listen, build trust and deliver the choice, value and service they expect. This acquisition will generate greater investment capacity for our software and services and is expected to create significant shareholder value through efficiency gains.¡±
The deal brings together two of Europe¡¯s top three TMCs ¨C Amex GBT was ranked first in the list of Europe¡¯s Leading TMCs 2025, with total European sales of €10.21 billion, while CWT was in third place with estimated sales in Europe of €4 billion.
The mega-merger of global TMCs had been delayed by an investigation by the UK Competition and Markets Authority, which started in June 2024 before the deal was eventually given the green light by the CMA in March 2025.
The final major hurdle to the acquisition was an antitrust lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice, which had been due to go to trial in September before the case was suddenly dropped by the DOJ in July.
During Amex GBT¡¯s second quarter results presentation last month, Abbott said he was unable to provide any details on CWT¡¯s financial performance until the deal closed. But Abbott was ¡°very confident¡± that Amex GBT could achieve the original estimate of $155 million in synergies within three years following the acquisition.
In a statement, Amex GBT said that CWT¡¯s customers would now gain access to its platforms, including Neo and Egencia, as well as Select, which integrates with technology suppliers.
The TMC added that it would provide details on the financial impact of the CWT acquisition when it publishes its Q3 results in November.
? See also:?A timeline of the proposed acquisition, as reported by BTN Europe.