Amadeus Acquires ForwardKeys to Expand Travel Data Analytics
Amadeus views acquisitions as a strategy for tech innovation. This is the third deal the company has announced since the start of 2024.
Amadeus has acquired travel data analytics firm ForwardKeys, the company confirmed Thursday.
ForwardKeys recently updated the logo on its website to include the phrase 'An Amadeus company.'
'This acquisition will enable our expansion in travel intelligence, thanks to great portfolio and customer complementarity," an Amadeus spokesperson said in a statement. "As this is still a recent acquisition, we are speaking first to key stakeholders: customers, and partners. We will share more information in due course.'
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Valencia-based ForwardKeys says it analyzes data to predict traveler movement and behavior, meant to help clients make better business decisions. Clients include destination marketing organizations, hotels, tour operators, advertisers, car rental companies, retailers, and more.
ForwardKeys had $10.4 million (€9.3 million) in revenue in 2023, an increase of 1.1% from the prior year, according to a filing with the Spanish government. The majority of revenue comes from international clients. It reported $1.9 million (€1.7 million) in operating profit and that it spent $1.7 million (€1.5 million) on research and development. The company said it had 74 employees in 2023.
ForwardKeys was founded in 2010. Founders include CEO Olivier Jager and IT director Christophe Van Zwynsvoorde. Laurens Van Den Oever, the chief commercial officer, notes on LinkedIn that he is a co-owner.
Recent Acquisitions by Amadeus
This is the third acquisition that Amadeus has announced since the start of 2024.
The company acquired Vision-Box for $347.7 million to expand its biometrics services for airports. And it acquired Voxel for $123.2 million to strengthen its payment tech services for various types of travel companies.
Amadeus CEO Luis Maroto told Skift previously that the company needs to keep investing to meet fast-changing technological needs of the travel industry.
He looks at acquiring other companies as one of three strategies for innovation, aside from investing in its own tech and partnering with others.
'We are not going to do everything ourselves. It is impossible. We don't have the capability, the resources," Maroto said in December. "The company is healthy financially, so having acquisitions — if we find the right targets that can justify these things at the right price — we will keep acquiring companies in the future, definitely.'
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