Amadeus to acquire Newmarket International

CEBU, Philippines - Amadeus is in the process of acquiring Newmarket International, a leading provider of cloud-based group and event IT solutions to the hotel industry, for US$500 million. 

The addition of Newmarket, based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, US will significantly strengthen the Amadeus’ expertise and experience in the hotel IT industry, a key target sector for future growth.

Luis Maroto, President and CEO of Amadeus, said, “With many hotel chains at a crossroads in their IT strategy, and the provider landscape fragmented, Amadeus is committed to playing a key role in partnering with the hotel industry to address its challenges and this transaction will greatly accelerate that objective.”

Newmarket, which serves around 22,000 unique properties in 154 countries, operates in the group and event management segment of the hotel industry, which is estimated to account for 30-40% of a full-service hotel’s revenues.

It will be operated as a stand-alone business within Amadeus’ Global Hotel Group which will integrate many aspects of Amadeus’ robust products and services over time. 

Jeff Hiscox, President and CEO of Newmarket, said, “The acquisition by Amadeus is great news for both our customers and employees. We have built a profitable and successful business that is the undisputed leader in our market segment and by joining Amadeus we have the ideal platform to take that success to the next level and extend our leadership in hotel IT solutions.”

The combination of Amadeus and Newmarket is expected to result in revenue synergy opportunities in both Hotel IT and Distribution.

Newmarket’s products and services offerings are complementary to Amadeus’ IT product set which is focused on delivering cloud-based enterprise solutions in the area of: Central Reservations Systems, Property Management Systems, Revenue Management Systems and e-Commerce platform solutions.

As a result of the transaction approximately 430 employees globally, including Newmarket’s entire management team, will become part of the Amadeus Global Hotel Group, maintaining Newmarket’s headquarters location in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Newmarket has a strong track record of growth and profitability with estimated 2013 revenues of $110m and EBITDA margin of 31%. The transaction is expected to be earnings accretive to Amadeus on day one.

Amadeus and Newmarket expect to complete closing activities in the first quarter of 2014 and therefore do not expect the transaction to have any impact on Amadeus’ financial performance in 2013.

JP Morgan acted as financial advisors to Amadeus in this transaction. (FREEMAN)