TheFork acquired by American Express

American Express entered into a put option agreement to acquire TheFork from Tripadvisor for cash, at an enterprise value of $700m, an EV/EBITDA multiple of Above 20x and an EV/revenue multiple of 2x–6x. Completion was expected before the end of 2026, subject to employee consultation and regulatory approvals. The agreement followed Tripadvisor’s announcement in February 2026 that it would examine strategic alternatives for the business. TheFork runs an online restaurant reservation platform across Europe. Diners search for restaurants and book a table through it, while the restaurants use its software to manage their tables, their reservations and their customer records. It earns a commission on each cover it brings and a subscription on the software. It generated revenue of $150–250M and an adjusted EBITDA of $10–30M over the twelve months to the first quarter of 2026. For American Express, dining is already a category it addresses through the restaurant programmes and reservation privileges attached to its cards, where the reservation is what the cardholder values and the card itself follows. Owning the platform places it at the point where the diner chooses, rather than paying a third party for access to it. For Tripadvisor, the sale removes a business operating in a different market from its travel and experiences activities, and the proceeds were earmarked for share buybacks, debt repayment or acquisitions in experiences. The group expected minimal tax on the disposal, with net proceeds close to gross. Separating the two will require work: TheFork’s technology and data platform are integrated with Tripadvisor’s own, which the company identified among the risks of the transaction. Goldman Sachs advised Tripadvisor and TheFork, with Goodwin Procter and Reed Smith as legal counsel.