Corporate site
We’re creating a more connected travel industry, underpinned by sustainability and long-term investor relations.
60px
451px
Amadeus
Blog
Amadeus expands in Corporate Travel IT with proposal to acquire i:FAO group
Holger Taubmann
Senior VP Distribution, Amadeus IT Group
The Corporate Travel IT segment, focused on providing corporations with applications to help automate travel policy, handle their booking flow and simplify the travel expense process, is one of the fastest growing within the global travel and tourism industry. It is estimated to be worth around €2 to €3 billion a year, and significant growth is expected over the next years. With the goal of expanding its footprint in this business, Amadeus today announced its intention to acquire i:FAO, a leading provider of travel management technology solutions for corporations.
i:FAO, headquartered in Frankfurt and with its main development site in Sofia (Bulgaria), has a significant presence in the German Corporate Travel IT market through its flagship citric solution, which offers an architecture open and flexible that allows easy customization to specific clients requirements.
The addition of i:FAO will allow Amadeus to deliver an innovative and attractive end-to-end solution to its corporate clients. Corporations are one of the biggest consumers of travel services and it is estimated that they account for 45% of all trips made worldwide. We will also be able to provide this solution on a global scale, something that is crucial for big multinational corporations.
Amadeus today has announced that it will launch a tender offer addressed to 100% of the shareholders of i:FAO, conditional upon acceptance by a minimum of 75% of the company’s shareholders. Mr Louis Arnitz, the Chief Executive Officer of i:FAO Group, and other major shareholders, owning 68.5% of the company, have committed to sell their shares into the tender offer. Amadeus will pay €15 per share, with a total enterprise value – after cash adjustments – of €67.2 million.
For more information, please read the press release .
Important Notice: The terms and conditions of the takeover offer will be published in the offer document for the takeover offer only after the permission by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – “BaFin”) has been obtained. Investors and holders of i:FAO Shares are strongly advised to read the relevant documents regarding the takeover offer when they become available because they will contain important information. This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an invitation to make an offer to sell i:FAO Shares nor does it constitute an offer to purchase i:FAO Shares and is not for the purposes of Amadeus or any Amadeus Group company making any representations or entering into any other binding legal commitments. An offer to purchase i:FAO Shares will be solely made by the respective offer document which is to be published only after the permission by BaFin and is exclusively subject to terms and conditions set forth in the offer document. The terms and conditions contained in the offer document may differ from the general information described in this announcement. Shareholders of i:FAO are strongly recommended to seek independent advice, where appropriate, in order to reach an informed decision in respect of the content of the offer document and with regard to the takeover offer.