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TravelPerk, a leading European corporate travel booking platform, has acquired Chicago-based startup AmTrav as part of its strategy to expand its footprint in the U.S. The acquisition aims to boost TravelPerk’s presence and capabilities in the American market.
AmTrav, which operates in the same sector as TravelPerk, will continue to function under its existing brand, retaining its entire team.
To facilitate this acquisition and support its broader expansion efforts, TravelPerk has secured $135 million in debt financing from private equity firms Blackstone and Blue Owl.
TravelPerk’s CEO and co-founder, Avi Meir, expressed optimism about the acquisition, stating that it will significantly enhance the company’s growth in the U.S. He anticipates that this move will double TravelPerk’s U.S. revenues, making it the company’s largest revenue-generating region by 2026.
“Currently, the U.K. is our biggest market,” Meir told CNBC, attributing this to the 2021 acquisition of British corporate travel startup Click Travel, which spurred significant growth in the region.
Meir emphasized that the acquisition of AmTrav will support a “deep localization strategy” in the U.S., allowing TravelPerk to offer better rates and inventory options through stronger relationships with suppliers. AmTrav already has data exchange arrangements with major airlines like American Airlines and Southwest.
TravelPerk, which currently has over 200 employees in the U.S., plans to increase its U.S. workforce by 35% by the end of 2024. Globally, the company employs more than 1,200 people and saw a 65% increase in its U.S. revenues last year.
The Global Business Travel Association estimates that the U.S. corporate travel sector was worth $329 billion in 2023.
TravelPerk will expand its U.S. office presence to include AmTrav’s locations in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Miami. Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Jeff Klee, CEO of AmTrav, revealed that discussions with TravelPerk began in 2021. He was initially reluctant to sell without assurances that AmTrav’s operations would remain unaffected.
“The bar for me to do a deal was pretty high,” Klee said. “Both companies are fundamentally software companies, but we recognize the significant service component in travel. Travelers want to handle everything themselves until they can’t—such as during disruptions like hurricanes—so maintaining a strong service point is crucial.”
All AmTrav employees will remain with the company, continuing to report to their current managers. Klee humorously noted that he and his co-founder, Craig Fichtelberg, would have a boss for the first time in 35 years: TravelPerk’s CEO.
With the additional $135 million in financing from Blackstone and Blue Owl, TravelPerk’s total funding raised in 2024 now stands at $240 million. This includes $104 million from investors like SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Blackstone, and Blue Owl, secured in January 2024.
Kurt Tenenbaum, managing director at Blue Owl Capital, expressed confidence in TravelPerk’s management team and their potential for long-term success.
Founded in 1989 by Jeff Klee and Craig Fichtelberg, AmTrav provides localized, digital travel management services for small to mid-sized firms.
TravelPerk and AmTrav plan to leverage proprietary technology and develop new artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. Meir noted that AI will likely increase the need for in-person meetings, enhancing the demand for business travel.
“For TravelPerk, AI is about making humans more efficient rather than replacing them,” Meir told CNBC. “We focus on automating backend tasks to allow more meaningful human interactions with colleagues, customers, and partners.”
TravelPerk’s clients include Betterment, Adyen, Wise, and Red Bull, while AmTrav serves over 1,000 businesses. TravelPerk’s platform enables users to book business flights, hotels, trains, and cars across multiple countries, including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany, France, and more.
Existing investors in TravelPerk include SoftBank, General Catalyst, Kinnevik, Greyhound Capital, Felix Capital, Target Global, LocalGlobe, Spark Capital, and Heartcore.
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