Sabre to assume control of Abacus
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Sabre Corporation will assume majority control of Abacus International, the global distribution system (GDS). Abacus is currently owned by a consortium of 11 Asian airlines along with Sabre, which has a 35% stake in the company.
Sabre will purchase the remaining portion of Abacus for net cash consideration of $411 million.
“The Asia-Pacific travel market is the largest and fastest growing in the world,” said Tom Klein, Sabre president and CEO. “Acquiring Abacus immediately combines the global capabilities of Sabre with the deep local market expertise of the leading Asia-Pacific GDS. This powerful combination will give customers even more innovation and service options, while allowing Sabre to accelerate growth globally in a very capital efficient way – and to gain regional synergies in all three of our businesses serving travel agents, airlines and hospitality companies.”
Abacus International president and CEO, Robert Bailey added, “With our extended network in Asia-Pacific, Abacus has built a trusted brand of unique significance and scale. We now have the opportunity to take the business forward even faster, broadening the scope within the Sabre family and with the support of our shareholder carriers. This is great news for the industry in Asia-Pacific, and we look forward to passing the benefits of integration to all sectors of this region’s diverse travel community.”
Abacus serves more than 100,000 travel agents across the Asia-Pacific region’s 59 markets and has both global and uniquely local relationships with airlines and hotels, including the leading portfolio of low-cost content and Chinese airline content.
Separately, the acquisition includes new long-term distribution agreements between Sabre and the 11 airline owners of Abacus.
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