Direct Travel, Inc., a leader in corporate travel management, has announced the acquisition of its long-time strategic partner, ATPI, creating one of the world’s largest travel management companies. Together, the two companies will drive over $6 billion in annual total travel volume and offer leading technologies and unparalleled service across global corporate, leisure, events, and specialized travel sectors. The amount involved was not disclosed.
The acquisition of ATPI, one of the most experienced and long-established international travel and event management companies, serves as a natural progression of the companies’ multi-year collaboration to serve the business travel needs of global corporate clients. The union will also help accelerate the international rollout of Avenir Travel Edition, Direct Travel’s next-generation platform designed to delight business travelers, empower travel managers with real-time intelligence and create new value for travel suppliers.
“ATPI has a commanding presence in the international travel management space and a strong history of collaboration with Direct Travel, making them a perfect fit to strengthen our efforts in delivering exceptional service at scale,” said Christal Bemont, CEO, Direct Travel. “This partnership represents a pivotal moment in reshaping managed travel, allowing us to deliver tailored solutions and a seamless experience for clients across a range of sectors and of all sizes and locations. Together, we will redefine what it means to offer The Perfect Trip on a global scale.”
“ATPI and Direct Travel have long held a shared vision for reimagining how the world connects, underpinning a successful commercial partnership. Bringing our two organizations together will enable us to better serve clients collectively, through the combination of our specialized services, innovative technologies, and highly skilled customer teams,” said Ian Sinderson, CEO, ATPI. “By bolstering our already strong position in travel technology and highly specialized travel support, we will combine to provide a compelling alternative to mega-agencies for global travel throughout our range of extensive geographic markets and business lines.”
Direct Travel values ATPI’s strong fundamentals, proven strengths in corporate travel and its deep expertise across specialty markets such as energy, marine, sports, and mining. Specialized industries bring distinct needs and complex challenges. ATPI has proven its ability to solve them through relentless innovation and the development of proprietary technologies and services that deliver measurable results. As part of this acquisition, Direct Travel intends to build on ATPI’s successful history and further invest in expanding its market reach and impact in these specialized segments.
Jefferies LLC served as exclusive financial advisor and Perkins Coie LLP served as legal counsel to Direct Travel. Baird served as exclusive financial advisor to ATPI.
