American Express Global Business Travel has finally completed its acquisition of fellow travel management company CWT, 17 months after the deal was announced.
The transaction is worth $540 million, reduced earlier this year from the original valuation of $570 million in March 2024.
Amex GBT CEO Paul Abbott 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 mega-merger of global TMCs had been delayed by an investigation by the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority, which started in June 2024 before the deal was eventually given the green light in March 2025.
The final major hurdle to the acquisition was an antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. 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, 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 gain access to its platforms, including Neo and Egencia, as well as Select, which integrates with technology suppliers.
Amex GBT added that it would provide details on the financial impact of the CWT acquisition when it publishes its Q3 results in November.
Source: Business Travel News