LANGLEY, United Kingdom /PRNewswire/ -- Travelport Worldwide
Limited (NYSE: TVPT), a leading Travel Commerce Platform providing
distribution, technology, payment and other solutions for the
global travel and tourism industry, has acquired Mobile Travel
Technologies Ltd (MTT), a private company based
in Dublin, Ireland.
MTT
provides an industry-leading mobile travel platform and product set
that allows airlines, hotels, corporate travel management companies
and travel agencies to engage with their customers through
sophisticated, tailored mobile services including apps, mobile web
and intelligent mobile messaging. MTT's mobile apps and
services are then delivered, under the customer brand, to
smartphones, tablets and wearable devices, including the Apple
Watch.
Its
clients include some of travel's most progressive companies such as
easyJet, Singapore Airlines, Saudia, BCD Travel, Capita Travel and
Events and the LATAM Airlines Group.
MTT
works with its clients to create mobile applications and
intelligent mobile services that deliver a highly customer-centric
experience. With its mobile travel platform and product set, it can
enable travel companies to quickly launch high-end, engaging mobile
services in a cost effective manner. Services include mobile
search, booking and check-in as well as products such
as MTT Engage, which provides
real-time, personalized messages and offers to the traveler,
and MTT Concierge Live, which
delivers a "day of travel" experience via a traveler's mobile
device including live, contextual travel updates and airport
guidance. As well as receiving many industry accolades, MTT was
recently featured in Gartner's "Cool Vendors in Travel and
Hospitality, 2015"¹ report.
Numerous recent industry research studies into the mobile commerce
sector, indicate that the sector is positioned for further rapid
growth. In 2014, mobile commerce accounted for around one third of
all e-commerce transactions globally (source: Criteo); air ticket
transactions are predicted to grow from just under 200 million in
2014 to over 540 million by 2018, with transaction value increasing
from US$52 billion to US$145 billion for the same period
(source: Juniper). Similarly, in the US alone, the
transaction value of hotel bookings made using mobile devices is
expected to grow from US$2.7 billion in 2014 to US$5.4 billion in 2016, reflecting a growth rate of
more than 100% in just two years (source: Juniper).
Gordon Wilson, Travelport's President and CEO,
commented:
"It is
a natural extension of Travelport's strategy of redefining travel
commerce to have acquired, what we believe to be, the largest and
most successful company focused on delivering sophisticated mobile
services and apps to the travel industry. Adding MTT as an expanded
capability to our existing travel commerce platform extends our
reach further, and at the higher value add end of the service
spectrum for our airline, hotel, travel management company and
travel agency clients.
"At
the same time, MTT will benefit from the network effect of
Travelport in terms of infrastructure, our relationships with
additional prospective clients and access to our industry leading
content.
"We
will run MTT as a wholly owned subsidiary of Travelport, retaining
existing CEO, Gerry Samuels, along with his senior team, so that they
can maintain their singular focus on the mobile sector and the deep
seated customer relationships they build."
Gerry Samuels, MTT's CEO, added:
"Becoming part of the Travelport family will enable MTT to
accelerate what we are already doing in the travel industry –
bringing cutting edge mobile innovations to airlines and travel
intermediaries so that they can better serve the end traveller with
innovative and personalised mobile services that transform the
travel experience.
"MTT
has experienced very significant growth as the market and demand
for mobile travel has expanded and there is enormous potential to
grow further. Now with the support of a global industry leader
such as Travelport, we will be even better placed to capitalise and
expand into the considerable opportunities we see ahead of us."
Travelport's acquisition of MTT follows other recent investments it
has made as part of its ongoing strategy to redefine travel
commerce, with a particular emphasis on the fast growing digital
economy. These investments include Travel IT, a next
generation German tour operator distribution system; Hotelzon, a
hotel distribution company focused on enabling independent hotels
to take part in the online corporate travel economy and Locomote,
an Australian based corporate travel applications development
company. Travelport has also invested in, and expanded, eNett, a
pioneering B2B electronic payments company which now operates in 47
countries around the world and continues to grow rapidly.
Travelport has also invested organically to enable both low cost
and network carriers to display and sell their full range of
products and offers through its Travel Commerce Platform on a
unique and fully integrated basis, and to offer an industry leading
portfolio of individual hotel properties (650,000) that are fully
bookable in real time.
The
acquisition was funded from Travelport's cash resources. Travelport
expects the acquisition to be neutral for its financial performance
in 2015 and accretive in future years.
In
connection with the transaction, Travelport issued grants totalling
€14,400,000 to 28 MTT executives, to be paid in the first quarter
of 2018 in Travelport common shares based on MTT performance
targets and other terms and conditions. Based on yesterday's
closing price of Travelport common shares and foreign exchange
rate, assuming all of the awards are earned and paid, Travelport
would deliver approximately 1,152,086 common shares to MTT
executives in 2018. The ultimate number of Travelport common shares
that are delivered to MTT executives will, however, be based upon
the closing price and foreign exchange rate at the time of such
conversion in 2018, as well as MTT performance and the other terms
and conditions set forth in the awards.
Notes to editors:
For media enquiries, please contact:
Kate Aldridge, VP Corporate Communications
Tel: +44 (0)1753 288720
Mob: +44 (0)7921 698757
Email: [email protected]
About Travelport (www.travelport.com)
Travelport is a Travel Commerce Platform providing distribution,
technology, payment and other solutions for the$8
trillion global travel and tourism industry. With
a presence in over 170 countries, over 3,400 employees and 2014 net
revenue of over $2.1 billion, Travelport is comprised of:
Travelport is headquartered in Langley, UK. The Company is
listed on the New York Stock Exchange and trades under the symbol
"TVPT".
About Mobile Travel Technologies
Ltd. (www.mttnow.com)
Mobile
Travel Technologies Ltd. (MTT) is the leading mobile travel
platform and mobile technology provider for airlines and travel
companies with an extensive customer base across the global travel
industry. MTT's Mobile Travel Platform and comprehensive mobile
travel product set enables airlines and travel companies to deliver
sophisticated mobile services to increasingly mobile centric
customers who want to manage entire trips via mobile, from travel
research and booking to planning and preparation, to in airport,
in-flight and at destination services.
Voted
Best Technology Provider at the 2014 Travolution Awards, MTT
provides unrivalled travel industry experience, world-class mobile
development, creative design and UX expertise. As a pioneer in
mobile travel having first launched mobile bookings for airlines in
2006, MTT has remained a first mover in this space and its airline
and other travel apps are now used by millions of travellers
worldwide every day. MTT clients include Singapore Airlines, LATAM
Airlines Group, easyJet, Saudia, BCD Travel, transavia.com of the
Air France KLM Group and Flybe.
¹Gartner, Inc., Report: Cool Vendors in Travel and Hospitality,
2015, Venecia K Liu, May
28, 2015
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