Amadeus in talks for major deal to acquire TravelClick

Amadeus has signalled its intent to further challenge rival Sabre in the hotel technology arena with a potential deal to buy TravelClick.

Spain-based Amadeus confirmed this week that it is in talks about a possible acquisition of TravelClick from its private equity owner, Thoma Bravo.

An Amadeus official declined to give any further details, including sale price and other terms.

Earlier reports suggest U.S.-based TravelClick could fetch up to $3 billion for Thoma Bravo.

The deal would dwarf the $500 million that Amadeus paid in 2013 for Newmarket International, a group and events technology provider for hotels.

Last week, during the Q2 2018 earnings call for Amadeus, CEO and president Luis Maroto talked about the companies on its radar, including those that are "doing well."

"The only question is to find the right target at the right price that can fit properly in the strategic drivers that we have for the organization."

Hospitality focus

Such an acquisition to buy TravelClick would be the biggest bet that the company has made on its hospitality tech strategy, putting it squarely up against Sabre and other stalwarts of the hotel reservation system sector.

Amadeus is currently in the process of a major project to overhaul the booking and reservation tech for InterContinental Hotels Group.

TravelClick currently serves over 50,000 hotels around the world with various tech services, including business intelligence, guest management tools, media platforms and its core reservation-booking system.

Whilst Amadeus might be somewhat contemplative that it could've picked up TravelClick for a fraction of the rumored $3 billion asking price four years ago, Thoma Bravo will be thrilled that it potentially could treble the return on its investment.

Thoma Bravo paid $930 million for TravelClick in 2014 from Genstar and minority owner Bain.

The private equity firm supported TravelClick's modest expansion plans with deals in 2015 for ZDirect and Digital Alchemy in March 2018.