Travel management platform TravelPerk acquired Click Travel, a U.K-based corporate travel specialist.The terms of the deal are not disclosed, but TravelPerk was provided funds by the Baupost Group (a Boston-based investment manager).TravelPerk claims that the acquisition makes it the world's leading platform for travel management for small and medium-sized businesses, globally.Click Travel is TravelPerks' third acquisition in the last year. The company also acquired U.S.-based NexTravel and Albatross, a travel API developer in July 2020.TravelPerk was founded in 1999 in Birmngham (U.K.). Click Travels 150-strong team will now join TravelPerk. This will boost the U.K. position.According to a statement, Click counts brands like Five Guys and Red Bull as well as Talk Talk among its customers.This statement continues to state that TravelPerks' acquisition strategy is driven primarily by businesses that share its future-focused and tech-driven approach in travel management.Avi Meir is the CEO and co-founder at TravelPerk. He says that since March last year, we have been investing heavily in our product offerings and in our global reach to ensure that we are well-positioned for recovery. Today's news is an important part of that plan.Click Travel was then led by Jill Palmer and received a multimillion-dollar funding round from Business Growth Fund in July 2018.In early 2021, she left the company to pursue other opportunities.James McLeans, the new CEO of Click Travel, says: Click Travel and TravelPerk share a common mission: To reduce the cost and complexity for business travel for all involved. We offer the best technology and customer service and we have the best inventory.TravelPerk announced that it raised $160 million to finance acquisitions in April.Its total funding was $294 million thanks to the cash injection.Although Meir is positive about the recovery of corporate travel, Click Travel's acquisition adds to the consolidation in the segment. This may be a sign that the segment is not recovering to pre-pandemic levels.CTM purchased U.S.-based Travel and Transport in the latter part of 2020.American Express Global Business Travel recently announced its plans to acquire Expedia's Egencia business travel company in May, while Tripactions announced that it was purchasing Reed & Mackay.Despite the fact that airline bosses remain optimistic about the recovery of this segment, many investors are still happy to contribute dollars to its growth.Other industry experts agree that business travel will change over time, but they still believe it is essential for corporate innovation.
