Long Lake Management has agreed to acquire American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT), the world’s largest corporate travel platform, in an all-cash transaction valued at $6.3 billion.
The deal for the global travel, expense and meetings and events company represents a 60.2% premium to Amex GBT’s closing stock price prior to the announcement.
The acquisition combines Long Lake’s AI-led transformation capabilities with Amex GBT’s global marketplace, meetings and events expertise, and extensive corporate client base. It reflects growing momentum behind AI-driven servicing in corporate travel, with both companies positioning the transaction as a step-change for traveller experience.
Alex Taubman, CEO and co-founder of Long Lake said the future of the sector will be defined by “AI and human agents working seamlessly together,” enabling faster booking, proactive disruption management and more streamlined travel administration.
Paul Abbott, CEO of Amex GBT, added: “This agreement delivers a compelling outcome for our shareholders, providing them a substantial, certain cash value at an attractive premium. Our customers have always been at the heart of Amex GBT, and this partnership with Long Lake is about serving them even better.
“Together with Long Lake’s applied AI capabilities and our travel expertise, global scale, and trusted customer and supplier relationships built over decades, Amex GBT is driving the transformation of business travel.”
Long Lake is backed by major investors including General Catalyst and Alpha Wave, both of which have strong track records in scaling technology businesses.
For the meetings and events sector, the deal could mark a pivotal shift. Amex GBT has been investing heavily in integrated meetings, events and travel solutions, and the addition of AI capabilities may accelerate automation, personalisation and cost optimisation across programmes.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. Following completion, Amex GBT will become a privately held company and delist from the New York Stock Exchange.
Financing is being provided through a mix of equity and debt, with backing from institutions including JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citi and MUFG.