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AMEX GLOBAL BUSINESS TRAVEL TO GO PUBLIC VIA $5.3-BILLION SPAC DEAL

American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) said Friday it would merge with a blankcheque firm backed by Apollo Global Management Inc. to go public in a deal valued at around US$5.3-billion.

The deal with Apollo Strategic Growth Capital (ASGC) will deliver gross proceeds of up to US$1.2-billion, including a US$335-million private investment in public equity, or PIPE.

Investors in the PIPE included investment manager Ares Management Corp., travel technology company Sabre Corp. and Zoom Video Communications Inc.

The merger comes at a time when business travel is recovering from a pandemic-induced slump.

AmEx GBT was a whollyowned unit of American Express Co. until 2014, when the payments processor sold half its stake to a consortium led by investment firm Certares LP.

Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and the Carlyle Group were looking to purchase a 20-per-cent stake in the company in late 2019 but pulled out of the plan in May last year as the COVID-19 crisis dented AmEx GBT’s business.

After the merger, the combined company will be renamed Global Business Travel, but it will continue to do business under the AmEx GBT brand name.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2022, after which Global Business Travel will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “GBTG.”

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2021-12-04T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-12-04T08:00:00.0000000Z

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