AmTrav’s Klee: ‘Business as usual’ after acquisition by TravelPerk

Travel management platform TravelPerk has acquired AmTrav, doubling its revenue in the U.S. as AmTrav, a longtime Power List agency, will continue to operate under its distinct brand, the companies announced.

With the acquisition, the terms of which were not disclosed, Barcelona-based TravelPerk gains offices in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami. The U.S. already was a growth market for TravelPerk, with 65% year-over-year revenue growth in 2023, and the acquisition brings the U.S. to its top revenue-generating region.

For AmTrav, meanwhile, “it will stay business as usual,” CEO Jeff Klee, who cofounded AmTrav alongside Craig Fichtelberg, said in a letter announcing the acquisition to customers. “Despite having a new parent company, we’re keeping our brand name, we’re keeping our booking tool, and most importantly, we’re keeping our team.”

He said it would be similar to TravelPerk’s acquisition of U.K.-based travel management company Click Travel, which continues to serve its customers with its team under the TravelPerk umbrella.

Klee said TravelPerk is a “kindred spirit” for AmTrav in its focus on both software and service, and the acquisition will enable TravelPerk to offer more products to its customers, such as TravelPerk’s FlexiPerk refundable fare option and free up its development team with the ability to leverage TravelPerk’s resources, It also will enable AmTrav expand its global reach, he said.

“Historically, AmTrav hasn’t been able to serve companies with large international operations who want to pay in multiple currencies,” Klee said in the letter. “Because we’ve joined with TravelPerk, we’ll soon be able to support with an integrated solution organizations who have travelers in Britain and across Europe, with more geographies to come.”

TravelPerk announced it also has raised a new credit facility of up to $135 million, with Blackstone Credit & Insurance and Blue Owl Credit leading the backing. In January, the company announced a $104 million funding round led by Japanese technology investment firm SoftBank.

AmTrav’s “decades-long track record of success in the U.S. will supercharge our growth in the U.S. and around the world,” TravelPerk CEO and cofounder Avi Meir said in a statement. “With the financial backing of world-class investors … we’re exceptionally well-positioned to continue to invest in industry-leading technology and our global growth.”

This report originally appeared in Business Travel News.