AMERICAN EXPRESS GLOBAL BUSINESS TRAVEL acquired by Long Lake Management
Context
Long Lake Management completed the acquisition of Global Business Travel Group, known as Amex GBT, in an all-cash transaction valuing the company at an enterprise value of . The acquisition was announced on May 4, 2026, approved by Amex GBT stockholders at a Special Meeting held on August 3, 2026, and closed on September 29, 2026. Under the merger agreement, Amex GBT stockholders received cash consideration representing a 65.1% premium to the 30-day VWAP from the date of the merger agreement and a 60.2% premium to the closing stock price on May 1, 2026. Amex GBT common stock ceased trading and was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, and Amex GBT became a privately held company. American Express, Expedia, Qatar Investment Authority and BlackRock, which together held approximately 69% of Amex GBT shares, entered into voting agreements in support of the take-private. American Express, which owned approximately 30% of Amex GBT, was to receive proceeds at closing, with the existing brand licensing and commercial agreements between the two companies unchanged. The transaction was financed with equity from Long Lake's existing investors and from Koch Equity Development, the principal investment and acquisition arm of Koch, plus committed debt financing. Amex GBT chief executive officer Paul Abbott remained in his role. Amex GBT was the 35th acquisition of Long Lake, a holding company that transforms services businesses with applied AI, and its largest, with Long Lake's engineers set to deploy its Nexus AI platform inside Amex GBT's teams. Rothschild & Co acted as exclusive financial adviser to the Special Committee of the Amex GBT board, with Kirkland & Ellis as legal counsel to that committee. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom advised Amex GBT on legal matters. Latham & Watkins was legal counsel to Long Lake, with Gibson Dunn as financing counsel. Moelis & Company advised Koch Equity Development, which was represented legally by Jones Day.
As a reminder, American Express Global Business Travel had previously acquired Cwt in 2024 as part of its expansion strategy.
-> Deep-dive in TMT (Tech, Media, Telecom) market trends
Target
Headquartered in the United States, American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) provides software and services for managing business travel, expenses and meetings. Companies book trips and run their travel and expense programmes on its own platforms, Neo1, Neo and Egencia, supported by travel counsellors, dedicated account teams, professional services and sustainability consulting. Its customers are corporations, government agencies and other institutions whose employees travel for work, and its activity in business travel goes back more than a century.
Ent. Value
Equity Value
Multiples
EV / Revenue
EV / EBITDA
EV / EBIT
Historical Financials (USD)
Other operations with AMERICAN EXPRESS GLOBAL BUSINESS TRAVEL
| Date | Acquirer | Target | Country | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03/2024 | AMERICAN EXPRESS GLOBAL BUSINESS TRAVEL | CWT | UNITED STATES | Travel / Hospitality |
REFERENCES
Valuation range: EV 3b - 100b USD
EBITDA range: 450M - 900M USD
Note: This page provides detailed data on a private equity M&A transaction. Detailed and exact financial metrics for the acquisition of AMERICAN EXPRESS GLOBAL BUSINESS TRAVEL by Long Lake Management are reserved for mynth community members. Register for free to unlock full data.
Authors: This transaction was contributed by a verified mynth contributor and cross-checked against available transaction documents and official company communications.
Press release: view release