Global Business Travel Group, Inc. (GBTG)

Global Business Travel Group, Inc., which runs American Express Global Business Travel, stopped being a listed company on 29 September 2026 12.

Long Lake Management bought it in an all-cash deal that its press release put at about $6.3 billion, and the company now survives as a wholly owned subsidiary of an entity tied to the buyer 123.

The board of directors resigned when the merger took effect, and shareholders' shares were converted into the right to receive cash 1.

The company then filed Form 15 on 9 October 2026 to end its duty to file public reports, stating that it had one holder of record 3.

The newest results on file are for the second quarter of 2026, reported on 4 August 2026: revenue of $870 million, up 38 percent from $631 million a year earlier 6.

Net income was $17 million, and the company said revenue growth excluding acquisitions was 10 percent 6.

Chief executive Paul Abbott said the deal brings Long Lake's AI engineering team into the company 2.

The open question is what the new owner changes, since no further quarterly reports are due now that the reporting duty has ended 3.

The business dates its formation to 2014, when it set out to build a travel marketplace for companies 7.

It grew by buying 7. A purchase of KDS in October 2016 brought the Neo online booking and expense platform, and Hogg Robinson Group widened its reach in key regions 7.

It added AI and machine learning in 2020 by acquiring 30 Seconds to Fly 7.

In 2021 it bought Ovation Travel for high-touch service and Egencia from Expedia Group for a digital-first software product 7.

Its exhibit list shows a business combination agreement dated 2 December 2021 between Apollo Strategic Growth Capital and GBT JerseyCo Limited 7.

The company's shares later traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GBTG 1.

The next large step was CWT, a rival travel manager 7. The company completed that acquisition on 2 September 2025 for total purchase consideration of $597 million 7.

CWT brought about 2,000 clients and strength in government, defense and military travel 7.

On 29 December 2025 it gained control of Uvet GBT, an Italian travel group, by obtaining majority representation on its board 7.

In October 2025 it signed an alliance with SAP Concur, which produced the joint product Complete 7.

The effect shows in the 2025 figures 7. Revenue rose $295 million, or 12 percent, to $2,718 million, of which $209 million came from CWT and $86 million from more transactions and higher total transaction value 7.

Net income swung to $111 million from a loss of $134 million a year earlier 7.

The CWT price was $408 million in shares and $186 million in cash, with the rest contingent 7.

Clients stayed: the annual report gives a 2025 client retention rate of 96 percent excluding CWT, and about 15 years of average tenure for its top 100 clients 7.

New client wins in 2025 totaled $3.3 billion in contract-term booked travel, excluding CWT 7.

The 2025 report put total transaction value, the amount travelers booked through the company, at about $36.3 billion 7.

Net debt stood at $984 million at the end of 2025 5.

The sale process followed 4. The company agreed on 2 May 2026 to be acquired by Long Lake Management, after a special committee of independent directors negotiated the terms 4.

Stockholders approved the merger on 3 August 2026, and it closed on 29 September 2026 2.

Travel management and the marketplace

The core product is business travel booking 5. The company runs a marketplace that connects travel suppliers with companies whose staff fly, stay in hotels and rent cars, and it negotiates fares for those clients 5.

Travel revenue was $2,154 million in 2025, up 12 percent, and made up about 79 percent of the $2,718 million total (computed) 7.

Second-quarter 2026 travel revenue rose 38 percent, which the company tied to acquisitions, business travel demand and share gains 6.

Total transaction value, the amount travelers book through the company, grew 57 percent in that quarter 6.

Software and services products

Clients pick a package 7. Egencia suits companies that want a digital travel and expense platform, and Amex GBT Neo suits those that want a customized global program the company manages 7.

Amex GBT Select lets a client plug the marketplace into its own technology, and Amex GBT Ovation, with Lawyers Travel, serves clients who prefer to speak to travel experts 7.

Complete by SAP Concur and Amex GBT is the co-developed flagship, and the company said 83 percent of eligible joint customers were using it in the second quarter of 2026 67.

In that quarter it launched the Egencia AI connector in Claude, which lets travelers and enterprise AI agents book policy-compliant air and hotel trips inside tools they already use 6.

In 2025, 83 percent of its bookings came through digital channels 7.

Product and professional services revenue, the second line of the filed split, was $564 million in 2025, up 15 percent 7.

Meetings, events and consulting

Amex GBT Meetings & Events helps business travelers gather in settings for attendees, companies and brands, and Amex GBT Consulting advises on cutting travel costs and keeping to policy 7.

A unit called GBT Sports & Entertainment serves sports professionals and TV and film production crews 5.

Where it operates and who works there

At the end of 2025 it had over 27,000 employees and a proprietary presence or operations in 49 countries 7.

Those countries represent about 92 percent of business travel spend worldwide, according to the Global Business Travel Association 7.

The annual report places its corporate headquarters at 33 Charterhouse Street, London, on a lease that expires in July 2034, and says it owns the land under offices in Mexico City and Nancy, France 7.

The registered address on its filings is 666 3rd Avenue in New York 1.

People

Paul Abbott is chief executive 2.

Eric Bock, the chief legal officer who also leads mergers and acquisitions and compliance, signed the Form 15 3.

Every member of the board resigned at the effective time of the merger, and the filing says none did so over a disagreement 1.

Rivals

The annual report names the competition by type, not by name: other business travel management providers, consumer and online travel agencies, and travel suppliers such as airlines and hotels that sell directly to business travelers 7.

Some clients also choose to manage their own business travel 7.

Current problems

The annual report said the company was not subject to any material legal proceedings 7.

Costs are the live issue 6. Second-quarter operating expenses rose 42 percent to $846 million, with restructuring costs tied to CWT synergies and a broader cost program 6.

Net debt was $994 million at 30 June 2026 5.

At closing the new owner repaid all loans under the old credit agreement and took a new first-lien term loan of $1,500,000,000 plus an undrawn $250,000,000 revolving facility 1.

The umbrella, in words

The brands are Amex GBT, Egencia, CWT and Ovation, with Lawyers Travel inside Ovation and CWTSatoTravel serving military and government agencies 7.

Its subsidiaries exhibit lists entities such as CWT Holdings, LLC and CW Government Travel, Inc. in the United States, plus CWT units in many countries 8.

It owns the CWT business, bought in 2025, and controls Uvet GBT through a board majority 7.

Control now sits with Long Lake Management through Gaia Purchaser, Inc., whose affiliate is the buyer 3.

The deal was financed by equity from Long Lake's existing investors and Koch Equity Development LLC, plus committed debt 2.

Before closing, voting agreements bound American Express International, Inc., EG Corporate Travel Holdings LLC, QIA Retail Holding LLC and BR Investors Juweel, L.P. to vote for the merger 4.

The merger itself is done, so the plans that remain are the new owner's and the company's own integration work 1.

Long Lake chief executive Alex Taubman said the owner would "invest heavily to advance the frontier of AI deployment in the travel experience" 2.

Paul Abbott said customers can expect "continuous innovation", from agentic customer tools to AI-empowered travel counselors 2.

In its last quarterly report the company said its restructuring actions are expected to result in workforce reductions and the consolidation of certain office facilities 5.

In its second-quarter release it reported $18 million of cost transformation benefits and $14 million of net synergies from CWT, which it said was in line with expectations 6.

The annual report said the CWT purchase is expected to generate operating synergies through integration of technology platforms, supplier relationships and operational efficiencies 7.

That report also said the company expects to continue to pursue strategic acquisitions to complement its platform, a statement made before the merger agreement 7.

The merger agreement was expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to customary conditions including regulatory approvals, the company said in August 6.

The headquarters lease in London runs to July 2034 7.

The company reported that its new wins value over the last twelve months was $3.5 billion, including wins with Google, Koch and Pfizer 6.

The same release reported a customer retention rate of 95 percent including CWT, and said Egencia's conversational AI had expanded into Google Chat 6.

The release also named new product work: an agent-to-agent architecture, the Egencia AI connector in Claude and enhancements to Complete 6.

Now that the registration is terminated, later disclosures would come from the owner or its lenders rather than from Form 10-Q or Form 10-K reports 3.