American Express to Acquire Travel One, Ninth Largest Travel Agency in the U.S.
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NEW YORK, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- American Express has agreed to acquire Travel One, the ninth largest travel agency in the country. Travel One recorded sales of just over $700 million in 1997, related almost exclusively to business travel. Through the acquisition, American Express will expand its relationships with mid-sized and large companies and will strengthen its presence in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest states.
Travel One will become a unit of American Express Corporate Services. The principals of Travel One, President and CEO Jeffrey Harrow, and COO Scott Tarte, will continue to lead the organization, and its headquarters will remain in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey.
''Travel One has been a strong regional travel management provider, with excellent client relationships, and we are very excited about the contribution the company will make to our network,'' said Ed Gilligan, President, American Express Corporate Services. ''Travel One has been particularly successful in delivering 'high-touch' customer service, recognizing the unique needs of growth-oriented companies. We'll gain from this expertise.''
''Travel One clients will benefit from American Express' global reach and capability, including its industry-leading Global Information Systems,'' said Jeff Harrow. ''We look forward to joining forces and bringing new services, including expense management solutions, to our customers.''
Travel One has approximately 1,400 employees, located in 30 full- service offices and 125 on-sites. Geographically, its largest presence is in New Jersey, Maryland, and Ohio.
The transaction is expected to be completed within the next 2 months, subject to regulatory review. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Headquartered in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, Travel One is the ninth- largest travel management company in the United States with more than 650 wholly owned ticketing locations. Its sales volume for the first two quarters of 1998 totaled $511 million.
American Express Corporate Services assists mid-sized and large companies in managing their business travel and purchasing expenses, offering them travel agency services, the Corporate Card and the Corporate Purchasing Card. It counts over 75% of Fortune 500 corporations as clients. In 1997, American Express posted worldwide travel sales of $17.4 billion. Corporate Services is a unit of American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Express Company -- a diversified worldwide travel and financial services company founded in 1850. It is a leader in charge and credit cards, Travelers Cheques, travel, financial planning, investment products, network services, insurance and
international banking.
SOURCE: American Express
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