Travelsoft acquires three travel technology companies

Travelsoft said Thursday that it has acquired three technology companies. Travelsoft, based in France, focuses primarily on providing travel agencies and tour operators with technology that improves the sales and marketing process of travel packages.

The three companies acquired by Travelsoft offer business-to-business services in this space:

• Spain-based TravelgateX offers a technology platform that connects accommodation providers with sellers.
• UK-based Atcore Technology offers a booking and inventory platform for tour operators, as well as technology for packaging, pricing and distributing travel packages.
• Romania-based Travel Connection Technology offers a technology platform integrating contracting, inventory management, sales channels, reservation management and financial accounts.

Travelsoft said each company will remain autonomous. This includes retaining brand names, leadership teams and their technology platforms.

Prices for the acquisition have not been disclosed, but here are some other details:

• The transaction almost triples Travelsoft’s employee base to 600.
• Travelsoft says its platforms currently enable bookings worth a total of €35 billion ($37.9 billion). Before the transaction, the amount was 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion).
• The company said it now has recurring revenue of 100 million euros ($108.3 million) a year, up from 43 million euros ($46.6 million).
• Travelsoft now has 400 major clients (up from 300) and 1,000 travel service providers (up from 600)

Takeover frenzy

This is Travelsoft’s sixth acquisition since 2022 – there are currently seven companies under the group’s umbrella.

Earlier this year, Travelsoft acquired the Eventiz Group, which owns three publications and organizes events aimed at the French tourism and business travel industry. The company was struggling financially and was implementing a court-supervised restructuring process and a creditor repayment plan.

Travelsoft’s first portfolio company was Orchestra, followed by the acquisition of Germany-based Traffics in 2022 and Spain-based Travel Compositor in 2023.

Private investment firm Capza invested in Travelsoft in 2023 and became a minority shareholder. According to the company, this investment enabled Travelsoft to go on an acquisition spree.

Industry experts say the industry is ripe for consolidation, as evidenced by multiple deal announcements in the last few weeks alone. Hotel startup Mews, for example, made its ninth acquisition this month.

Investment bank AGC Partners is among those who believe that mergers and acquisitions are on the rise. Last month, the company released an analysis on the subject, which showed that the pieces are ready for more deals.

AGC says these elements include an improving financing environment and the fact that technology private equity firms have about $300 billion to deploy. “Real action is yet to come,” the AGC said.

Among their strategies, these companies are investing in companies such as Mews and Travelsoft to finance their growth through acquisitions.

Photo: Travelsoft acquired three companies.