Small Players Backed by PE Thrive in Travel Tech’s M&A Surge
Skift Take
2025 is expected to be a banner year for travel tech M&A. Add-on acquisitions, particularly of companies with $5M-$50M ARR, are poised to set new records as platforms scale up and prepare for IPOs or acquisition by mega-cap firms.
Travel tech industry is in for a big year of M&A, with private equity driving the sector’s transformation, according to the new year end report from the hospitality and travel tech team at tech investment bank AGC Partners, led by Jonathan Weibrecht.
As companies scale up, strategize for IPOs, and diversify their offerings, the stage is set for a "feeding frenzy" in 2025, it says, with key drivers include improved LBO financing conditions and significant dry powder reserves among PEs. The large OTAs, historically buyers in online travel and travel tech, have sat out recent years because of anti-trust concerns.
Some more insights from the report by AGC, after the two charts below.
M&A Activity Is Surging: Travel and hospitality tech M&A values surged by 108% based on headcount, driven by strong business momentum and