By Doug Cameron
Amadeus IT Holding SA on Wednesday said it agreed to pay $830
million for Accenture PLC's Navitaire unit, giving the Spanish
travel technology provider a bigger foothold in the low-cost
airline market, notably in Asia.
Madrid-based Amadeus and rival Sabre Corp. link ticket sales
between travel agents and airlines and provide outsourced services
such as reservations and crew-management systems. They have been
courting low-cost carriers that are expanding to attract
higher-paying corporate travelers.
The planned deal comes a month after Deutsche Lufthansa AG
reignited a long-running battle between airlines and travel
intermediaries such as Amadeus by proposing a surcharge for
passengers that book through such global reservations systems.
Minneapolis-based Navitaire provides outsourced technology
services to around 50 airlines, mainly low-cost carriers such as
Ryanair, AirAsia and Brazil's Gol. These include ticket
reservations, revenue management and frequent-flier programs.
Amadeus mainly serves larger legacy airlines.
Amadeus has expanded through acquisitions to tap the
faster-growing hotel reservations market, and has focused on
expanding its IT services business for airlines, which have looked
to drive more sales through their own websites rather than the big
computer reservation systems.
It plans to keep Navitaire separate from its existing Altea
products focused on full-service airlines. The company said in a
statement that the proposed deal is expected to close in the fourth
quarter and would have a minimal impact on its 2015 financial
performance. It will take on around 550 Navitaire staff, including
the senior management team.
Accenture and Amadeus also said they are forming a strategic
alliance to provide airlines with outsourced IT services.
Sabre earlier this year paid $411 million to take control of
Abacus, another Asia-focused airline-reservation and
travel-services provider.
Write to Doug Cameron at doug.cameron@wsj.com
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