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Amex GBT Agrees to Acquire Carlson Wagonlit Travel for $570 Million

Photo: Amex GBT 

American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) is acquiring corporate travel agency Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT), for $570 million, marking a new chapter for one of the industry’s longtime corporate giants.

The deal is expected to close sometime in the second half of 2024. The transaction will be funded by a combination of stock and cash.

CWT, which says it serves 4,000 global customers, has been undergoing major changes in recent years, including taking on new equity owners in 2021. As recently as November, CWT underwent some balance sheet recapitalization aimed at deleveraging its balance sheet and strengthening its financial position. At that time, CWT said it had a “strong financial foundation and capital structure.”

In Monday’s announcement, CWT said that moving under Amex GBT will help its long-term vision and that it was “confident” in the future of the company.

“Joining forces with Amex GBT helps accelerate our vision of a tech-enabled future for business travel, where people and technology combine to deliver an exceptional customer experience. We are highly confident in the value creation of the combined company,” CWT CEO Patrick Andersen said.

It also said that, when the deal closes, its clients would have access to Amex GBT’s proprietary software, including programs like Neo1, Neo, and Egencia, and Amex GBT’s professional services.

TMR reached out to CWT to ask about the evolution of the CWT brand when the company does move under Amex GBT, and whether or not the CWT will remain. A spokesperson told TMR that "it’s very early in the process to discuss CWT as a brand. We are all proud of the name we have built in the marketplace and our ancestry. Today, we remain CWT."

Amex GBT’s CEO Paul Abbot said on Monday that bringing CWT under the Amex banner will “create more choice for customers, more opportunities for people, and more value for shareholders.”

CWT traces its roots back to 1872 when a Belgian innovator Georges Nagelmackers, who went on to create the Orient Express, founded Wagons-Lits, which means "sleeping cars."

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StarTribune

Pandemic drives carlson family out of the business where they made a fortune.

The pandemic has pushed the billionaire Carlson family, one of the wealthiest in Minnesota, out of the business where they made their fortune.

Carlson Travel Inc. and 37 related companies tumbled into bankruptcy last month after they were no longer able to withstand the worldwide collapse of corporate travel caused by efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus.

As the firms restructured $1.6 billion in debt, members of the founding family traded their ownership interest in the firms for debt forgiveness.

"The companies are now owned by a group of financial institutions and bondholders," Julian Walker, a Carlson Travel spokesman said. The family members "have no skin in the game."

The outcome is another major turning point for the Carlson family, now led by Marilyn Carlson Nelson and Barbara Carlson Gage, daughters of Curt Carlson, who started the Gold Bond Stamp Co. in 1938 and then the Carlson hotel and travel companies in the 1960s.

Carlson Cos., with its then-portfolio of 1,400 hotels, was sold in 2016 to the Chinese conglomerate HNA Tourism Group. With the exit now from the travel entities, the family's assets are chiefly in other investments.

The restructuring does not involve Carlson Private Capital Partners, the family's private equity firm in Minnetonka.

Carlson Travel will maintain its headquarters at the company's campus at the intersection of Interstate 394 and Interstate 494 in Minnetonka.

The company, which makes money by booking business trips and meeting and event planning, said in court filings that it does not expect its business to return to pre-pandemic levels in the next three years.

"Though the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected many industries, few industries were as radically affected as the travel industry," Carlson Travel CEO Michelle Frymire said in an affidavit filed in bankruptcy court. "Corporate travel and in-person events and conferences came to an abrupt halt nearly overnight."

Carlson Travel expects to lose $15 million on revenue of $701 million next year, a substantial downturn from 2019, when Carlson Travel earned $239 million on $1.5 billion in revenue, court records show.

In the United States, business travel revenue in 2021 is projected to remain more than $59 billion below 2019 revenues, according to a recent report from the American Hotel & Lodging Association, a trade group. In 2020, business travel fell $49 billion. Hotels have shed nearly 500,000 jobs in the last two years, according to the trade group.

Minnesota has seen one of the steepest declines, with business travel revenue expected to be 72% lower this year than it was in 2019. Only eight other states will see bigger drops, with Massachusetts leading the way at 85%.

The primary business of Carlson Travel is CWT, formerly Carlson Wagonlit Travel, a global travel services company that employs more than 12,000 people in 45 countries. In 2019, CWT was a leader in corporate travel, booking thousands of business trips daily for government agencies, corporate giants and small- and mid-sized businesses around the world.

On an average day before COVID-19, CWT managed about 100 meetings and events, communicated to 70,000 travelers and facilitated more than 240,000 transactions, bankruptcy records show. The company processed more than $23 billion in hotel bookings, airplane flights, car rentals and other corporate travel expenses in 2019.

When the pandemic hit and travel collapsed, Carlson Travel executives sought to reorganize the company's finances, bankruptcy records show.

The company slashed costs through furloughs and pay cuts in 33 countries, saving $500 million. Altogether, the company temporarily eliminated about 5,000 jobs. It also renegotiated key contracts and leases, suspended capital-intensive projects and curtailed nearly all incentive compensation programs. Those changes permanently reduced operating costs by about $300 million a year, records show.

This May, the company hired investment banker Houlihan Lokey to contact 50 potential buyers and gauge their interest in buying some or all of Carlson Travel's assets.

Those talks ended after just one bidder emerged with an informal offer that failed to gain the support of Carlson's bondholders. In a liquidation analysis filed in court, Carlson Travel and its affiliates were valued at $1.1 billion, but creditors were unlikely to get back more than $202 million in a sale, records show.

The company also obtained $125 million in new equity from its owners and borrowed $260 million. Executives thought those moves would be enough. But then, as travel started to recover this year, COVID-19 cases rose again.

"In the United States, where recovery was initially perceived to be strong, the recent surge in the Delta variant and nationwide delays in 'return to office' initiatives injected significant uncertainty'' into the domestic travel recovery, Frymire said in the affidavit.

The company sought Chapter 11 protection last month with a prepackaged reorganization plan, one that had approval from owners and lenders. The plan will eliminate about half of the company's $1.6 billion in debt and provide $350 million in new equity capital. Carlson Travel plans to spend a portion of that on a new technology platform.

The company asked the court to approve the plan 18 hours after filing the case in Texas, noting that a delay of just a few days could mean the loss of customers and revenue.

However, the U.S. Trustee in Texas asked for a delay, saying the company's "breakneck schedule" made it impossible for creditors to evaluate and react to 38 bankruptcy cases.

Despite the protest, a Texas bankruptcy judge approved Carlson's plan the same day the trustee filed its complaint without commenting on the objection.

"We are pleased to have received prompt court approval of the agreement we reached with CWT's financial stakeholders, which positions the company for long-term success and provides significant financial resources to further grow and develop our business," Frymire said in a statement.

Carlson Travel asked the bankruptcy judge last week for permission to hire an investment banker to evaluate potential bids for the company. But that filing was made in order to pay the firm for an aborted sales effort earlier this year.

"We are not up for sale," Walker said.

Jeffrey Meitrodt is an investigative reporter for the Star Tribune who specializes in stories involving the collision of business and government regulation. 

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Carlson to acquire full ownership of Carlson Wagonlit Travel

Carlson announces it will take full ownership of Carlson Wagonlit Travel.

MINNEAPOLIS and ANSTERDAM – Carlson , a global hospitality and travel company, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire from J PMorgan Chase & Co. , the 45 percent equity interest JPMC indirectly holds in Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT). As a result of this acquisition, Carlson will own 100 percent of CWT. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in July 2014, subject to customary closing conditions.

“We are pleased with the momentum, growth and results realized by the management team at CWT. This acquisition, along with our ongoing investment in Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group and its family of brands, helps solidify our long term direction for the company,” said Carlson President and CEO Trudy Rautio . “We have benefitted from a long relationship with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and will continue to work with them in the future.”

CWT is a global leader specializing in business travel and meetings management. CWT works with clients to respond to the complexities and challenges of business travel management while addressing the needs and expectations of travelers. CWT delivers efficient and innovative solutions to optimize travel and meetings and events management by leveraging its global reach with the best people and superior service and technology.

CWT employs nearly 19,000 people worldwide spanning more than 150 countries and territories. CWT’s clients include one-third of the Fortune Global 100 companies. In addition, it has a diverse client portfolio ranging from small and mid-sized companies, to government institutions and non-governmental organizations. In 2013, CWT generated traffic of $26.9 billion.

Tatiana Rokou

Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.

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Curtis Carlson; Owner of Radisson Hotels

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Curtis Carlson, who started the Gold Bond Stamp Co. with a $55 loan during the Great Depression and built it into the giant Carlson Cos. Inc. that included Radisson Hotels Worldwide, has died. He was 84.

Carlson died Friday at a suburban Minneapolis hospital after a stroke on Feb. 10.

The company, with 147,000 employees, also includes Carlson Marketing Group, Carlson Wagonlit Travel franchises, A.T. Mays travel agencies, Country Inns and Suites, Radisson Seven Seas Cruises and TGI Friday restaurants.

Carlson Cos. had $7.8 billion in annual revenue in 1998. The Carlson name was worth another $14.2 billion in annual revenue to franchises and other businesses licensed by the company.

Carlson began his career with a $110-a-month job as a soap salesman for Procter & Gamble, earning a gold watch and a $330 bonus the first year. He started his trading stamp business at night with a $55 loan from his landlord, and within six months said goodbye to selling soap.

From 1938 to 1978, Gold Bond grew at a rate of 30% a year, never failing to meet sales goals set by the founder. During the post-World War II era when trading stamps were in their heyday, Gold Bond broke new ground by signing up such nontraditional accounts as rural movie theaters, feed mills, turkey hatcheries and mortuaries.

The hotel chain that Carlson launched in 1962 when he bought Minneapolis’ Radisson Hotel now has 375 properties.

Until stricken, Carlson had remained active in the business. But he had relinquished control last year to his daughter, Marilyn Carlson Nelson.

He had trained her with what some might call tough love. Forbes magazine once quoted Carlson as dressing down his then 50-something daughter: “You don’t know anything about business! You’re a goddamn fool! You shut up and listen to me.”

He was tough on other executives too, with Forbes noting that the average executive tenure in 1993 was “about two years.”

Carlson’s approach usually worked. He made his first $1 million by age 39. Even foreign nations, from Cuba to Russia, begged him to set up hotels or refurbish their own.

“We were really quite distressed by the slowness of putting a package together,” he told The Times a year after opening the first American-run hotel in Moscow, the Radisson Slavjanskaya, in 1991. “But once the hotel was open and started making money, it was a whole new atmosphere.”

He was quickly asked to improve service operations at a dozen other Moscow hotels.

Carlson was the third child of Swedish immigrants in a family of five children. His mother worked as a maid in her early years and his father drove a sprinkler wagon for the city of Minneapolis and was a grocery salesman before opening his own grocery store.

“Everybody, including us kids, always worked as though the wolf were at the door,” Carlson recalled in his 1994 autobiography, “Good as Gold: The Story of the Carlson Companies.”

He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Minnesota in 1937.

Carlson is survived by his wife of 60 years, Arleen; two daughters, Marilyn Carlson Nelson and Barbara Carlson Gage; eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

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Carlson Family Gives Up Control of Namesake Agency CWT in Refinancing Deal

Matthew Parsons , Skift

September 15th, 2021 at 11:00 AM EDT

A new chapter that will help the agency focus on the future, but will an opaque ownership structure hinder its recovery plans?

Matthew Parsons

Corporate travel agency  CWT  hopes to draw a line under a tumultuous 18 months with a major financial restructuring, which will see the family-owned  Carlson  group switch from majority to minority stakeholder.

CWT, which up until 2019 was  known as Carlson Wagonlit Travel , has entered into an agreement with its equity owners, as well as firms that represent more than 90 percent of the company’s outstanding debt, to recapitalize the business.

Terms of the agreement, entered into with financial stakeholder  Barings , among others, include adding $350 million of new equity capital into the business, and eliminating almost $900 million of debt by replacing its existing $1.5 billion in debt with a new first lien debt of $625 million and an undrawn revolving credit facility. First lien debt holders are paid back before all other debt holders in the event of a default.

As a result of these manoeuvrings, the Carlson holdings ownership will be diluted, according to CWT CEO Michelle McKinney Frymire,  who replaced Kurt Ekert in May .

The refinancing, which is expected to complete by the end of the year, doesn’t involve any new parties coming to the table — which may come as a surprise after previous refinancing and other speculation. One industry source told Skift in September last year that  CWT would make an attractive acquisition target . “I see them being a net loser unfortunately, and there are others out there who might take an opportunistic approach and make a consolidation play,” they said at the time.

Rumors also circulated that private equity firm Certares, which this week  invested $354 million in an aerospace services firm , was looking at the company.

“All of the parties involved are existing investors, and they’re all really well regarded institutional investment managers,” said McKinney Frymire. “They understand the business, and have been incredibly supportive of the company and our strategy … CWT will remain an independent standalone company, we will have a number of debt holders who will become equity holders, many of whom already have some small portion of equity.”

McKinney Frymire also doesn’t envisage job cuts in the future. “Optimizing the operational footprint of the company, flattening the organization, we’ve done a lot of that work already,” she said.

CWT has been radically slimming down over the past few of years. In 2019 it axed several country director roles, and later transferred other regions into  cross-functional market management teams.

McKinney Frymire said there were currently 500 positions the company was looking to fill around the world.

Meanwhile, the restructure leaves CWT with a generous $400 million of available liquidity on the balance sheet. It claimed this is the largest amount among its peers, but the money won’t be directed towards acquisitions,  which has been a major trend  during the pandemic.

“We’re focused on our people and technology,” McKinney Frymire said. “That’s not to say we wouldn’t take advantage if we thought there was an opportunity that made sense. But it’s not an intentional focal point.”

Beyond the Pandemic

Now the calculations have been made, McKinney Frymire said she wants to put the business in a position to take advantage of the recovery in business travel. She’s been out talking to her biggest customers, where the news was “universally and very positively received.”

Yet it marks a significantly different chapter with its former namesake taking a back seat. Carlson was founded in 1938 in the U.S. state of Minnesota by Curt Carlson, with Carlson Wagonlit Travel formed in 1994 following its partnership with France’s Wagonlit Travel, which was owned by Accor.  Accor sold its share in the company in 2006.

But CWT is keen to point out that its rebrand in 2019 meant the company was no longer called Carlson Wagonlit Travel, despite the initials. Now, Carlson will retain some stake, but the exact percentage is still to be determined.

“Having over 90 percent of the debt holders in this agreement is really remarkable, and demonstrates the support our financial stakeholders have for the business,” McKinney Frymire added.

That show of support for the ailing travel agency also demonstrates a certain level of faith in the corporate travel sector’s potential to rebound. So much so, they’re literally banking on it.

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Tags: carlson wagonlit travel , certares , cwt , travel management

Photo credit: CWT is headquartered in Minneapolis in the U.S. Gregory Hayes / Unsplash

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Another vestige of carlson travel empire sold, this one to amex spinoff for $570m.

Minneapolis-based CWT, a business travel and meeting management firm that was part of a prominent Minnesota family's business legacy, will sell to rival American Express Global Business Travel for $570 million, the companies announced Monday.

The merger, which should close in the latter half of this year, blends two of the biggest corporate travel entities. CWT, formerly Carlson Wagonlit Travel, started in its current form in the mid-1990s and touts 4,000 customers with a projected revenue of approximately $850 million this year. American Express spun off its global business travel (GBT) sector as a joint venture with an investor group in 2014, and GBT has rapidly grown through various mergers and acquisitions since.

CWT was not reachable for comment, including on if its global headquarters will remain in the state, if this will affect any jobs or if the CWT name will survive.

American Express said the deal means CWT customers will have access to its proprietary software and services.

"Joining forces with Amex GBT helps accelerate our vision of a tech-enabled future for business travel, where people and technology combine to deliver an exceptional customer experience," said Patrick Andersen, CEO of CWT, in a statement. "We are highly confident in the value creation of the combined company."

The privately held CWT — which investment funds like Redwood Capital Management, Monarch Alternative Capital and others own — will now be part of the public GBT, which debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in 2022. That came at a time when corporate travel was still in a precarious state after grinding to a halt in 2020 because of the pandemic.

Business travel still hasn't fully recovered to 2019 levels in terms of volume or spending, but that milestone could hit as soon as by the end of this year. So Jose Ferreira, owner of Coon Rapids-based Riverdale Travel, said this deal is timed for growth.

"For corporate travelers, I would say that service levels are going to improve," Ferreira said. "Both of these companies are still recovering from the pandemic."

Curt Carlson, namesake of the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, started his family's business empire during the Great Depression, eventually venturing into the travel industry about 30 years later.

In 2021, the family gave up its ownership stake in Carlson Travel Inc. and its many related companies, including CWT, after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the business into bankruptcy. The family has also offloaded some of its large portfolio of hotels, including selling the Radisson Hotel Group Americas for $675 million to Choice Hotels International in 2022.

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Vipservice BT LLC is owned by Vipservice Group, one of the largest Russian travel consolidators, managing over 10,000 sub-agents across Russia and employing more than 1,400 people.

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