
New Analysis of California's Top Suppliers Points to Impact of Proposed Climate Reporting Mandates
NEW YORK, April 2, 2025 /3BL/ - As California looks to expand corporate climate disclosure requirements with the newly introduced Senate Bill 755 (SB 755), a groundbreaking analysis from Governance & Accountability Institute (G&A) and supporters Ceres, Carbon Accountable, and Persefoni, reveals that most of California's largest state suppliers do not yet disclose key climate-related information. The findings have implications for the State of California's supply chain as it pursues a goal of carbon neutrality by 2045.
The report – 'California Supply Chain: Current Practices & Trends in Climate Disclosure' – is the first industry-wide benchmark assessing how major suppliers to the State —representing billions of dollars in procurement spend—are aligned with its ambitious climate strategy, including regulations such as SB 253 ( Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act), SB 261 ( Climate-Related Financial Risk Act), and the newly introduced, supplier-focused SB 755 ( California Procurement Climate Information Act). SB 755 would require suppliers with over $25 million in state contracts to report their climate-related financial risks and Scope 1-3 GHG emissions, and suppliers with $5 to $25 million in State contracts to report their Scopes 1-2 emissions.
While not all the suppliers included in this analysis are in scope for SB 253 and SB 261, most would be required to report under SB 755. The research finds low voluntary reporting rates among current suppliers, indicating a lack of readiness to comply with the proposed regulation and pointing to the potential level of transparency to be gained through mandated reporting. An increase in awareness of its supplier base's climate disclosures would support the ability of California to reduce emissions and address climate risk across its supply chain.
'California is leading the way in climate disclosure policy, but our research shows that its supplier base largely is not yet aligned with climate disclosure expectations' said Louis Coppola, CEO & Co-Founder at G&A Institute. 'With SB 755 on the horizon, we now have a critical baseline to measure progress over time. It's a tool for policymakers, procurement teams, and suppliers themselves as they navigate this rapidly evolving regulatory landscape.'
Key FindingsMost of CA's top suppliers don't report climate data.
Assurance and target-setting by CA suppliers lags behind expectations.
Climate risk assessments remain a blind spot for CA suppliers.
These rates suggest state agencies, procurement teams, and policymakers should proactively drive supplier readiness by providing guidance on the specific requirements of each bill and their applicability, education on the complexities of climate reporting, and support for accurately measuring emissions and conducting climate-related risk assessments.
Establishing a Baseline for Future ProgressThis new research provides a baseline for measuring progress in the years to come. As California's climate regulations evolve, this analysis can be updated annually to track improvements, identify remaining gaps, and measure the impact of policies like SB 253, SB 261, and SB 755.
The report enables:
'This report is an important resource for California policymakers and taxpayers and demonstrates the continued importance of ensuring that companies manage, measure, and disclose their climate-related risks and opportunities.' – Ceres
'Suppliers must do their part to help California achieve its ambitious climate goals. This analysis helps clarify where industry gaps exist and where targeted action is needed.'– Carbon Accountable
'Persefoni is a carbon accounting and management platform that regularly supports customers as they examine their own supply chain risks and supplier specific emissions. Large institutional buyers - governments, universities, healthcare systems, corporations - are increasingly looking to suppliers to help assess and manage climate-related financial risks. This includes whether suppliers measure their own GHGs or consider potential disruptions to their own operations. Everyone is someone's Scope 3, so all companies must be ready to provide emissions data and climate risk analysis. We're only as resilient as our weakest supplier.' – Mike Wallace, Chief Decarbonization Officer, Persefoni
What's Next?SB 755 is poised to bring even more suppliers into California's climate disclosure framework. Analysis of the kind presented in this new report will be an essential tool for tracking progress, guiding industry engagement, and ensuring companies are prepared for increasing transparency demands.
About the Supporters
Ceres Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets is a center within Ceres that aims to improve the practices and policies that govern capital markets by engaging federal and state regulators, financial institutions, investors, and corporate boards to act on climate risk as a systemic financial risk.
Carbon Accountable Carbon Accountable advances policies that increase the availability of the robust GHG emission data needed to inform corporate and investor decision making and empower consumers and policymakers.
Persefoni Persefoni is a leading climate management and carbon accounting platform that enables businesses to track, manage, and disclose their carbon footprints in alignment with global standards.
About G&A Institute, Inc.
Founded in 2006, Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. (G&A) is a sustainability consulting and research firm headquartered in New York City. G&A helps corporate and investor clients recognize, understand, and develop winning strategies for sustainability and ESG issues to address stakeholder and shareholder concerns. G&A's proprietary, comprehensive full-suite process for sustainability reporting is designed to help organizations achieve sustainability leadership in their industry and sector and maximize return on investment for sustainability initiatives.
Since 2011, G&A has been building and expanding a comprehensive database of corporate sustainability reporting data based on analysis of thousands of ESG and sustainability reports to help steer strategy for our clients and improve their disclosure and reporting. More information is available on our website at ga-institute.com.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Business Insider
an hour ago
- Business Insider
Nvidia or Palantir: Morgan Stanley Selects the Superior AI Stock to Buy
A smart investor is always on the lookout for growth sectors, places where the economy is primed to boom and where consequent opportunities are riding high. Right now, few sectors are offering the strong growth potential of artificial intelligence (AI). Confident Investing Starts Here: In just a few short years, AI – and particularly generative and agentic AI – has become the 'shiny new thing' on the cutting edge of high-tech. The entry of AI is rapidly transforming the tech industry, and it is making inroads into numerous other areas. Data management, content creation, publishing – we've only begun to find out what AI can do, and we can only imagine what it will do. A report from UN Trade & Development points out that the world's AI market, which was estimated at $189 billion in 2023, will expand 25x by 2033 to reach $4.8 trillion. AI's growth will bring with it gains for companies across a wide spectrum of fields, including development, applications, hardware, infrastructure, and power generation. Such rapid growth is creating new opportunities for investors. The challenge won't be finding one – it'll be choosing the right one. That's where Morgan Stanley's analysts come in. They've zeroed in on two tech titans that have become synonymous with AI innovation: Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR). Both are riding the AI wave, but Morgan Stanley is making a clear call on which one stands out as the better buy right now. Let's take a closer look. Nvidi a Nvidia stands at the forefront of Wall Street's tech revolution. As a dominant force among the 'Magnificent 7' and boasting a $3.45 trillion market cap, it's not only the largest of the tech mega-cap – it's the biggest publicly traded company in the U.S. The AI boom, which took off in late 2022 with the debut of ChatGPT, put Nvidia in the spotlight. As the top supplier of high-performance GPUs, the company was well-positioned to meet the explosive demand for AI-capable chips – and that sent NVDA shares soaring 660% over the past three years. However, even a juggernaut like Nvidia isn't immune to shifting market dynamics. After an extraordinary run, the company's stock momentum has started to cool amid rising volatility this year. One key challenge stems from the lingering effects of President Trump's tariff policies. The chip industry is deeply intertwined with global supply chains, and Nvidia's exposure to East Asia has made it vulnerable to tariff risks. That may be easing now, as both China and the EU have entered into trade talks with the White House. Yet, Nvidia isn't standing still. The company continues to push the boundaries of innovation, doubling down on emerging technologies to maintain its leadership in the AI race. This past May, Nvidia unveiled the world's largest dedicated quantum computing research supercomputer, the ABCI-Q, hosted at the Global Research and Development Center for Business by Quantum-AI Technology (G-QuAT). The new system is already integrated with Nvidia's open-source hybrid computing platform CUDA-Q. A second new development was made public last week. Nvidia announced that its Blackwell architecture, designed to power the latest AI platforms, showed superior performance on the latest rounds of the MLPerf Training, a key benchmark used to rate the capabilities of new AI systems. In Nvidia's last earnings report, covering fiscal 1Q26, company CEO Jensen Huang noted that the company's breakthrough Blackwell products are in full production and went on to outline the potential for AI to continue supporting strong results: 'Global demand for NVIDIA's AI infrastructure is incredibly strong. AI inference token generation has surged tenfold in just one year, and as AI agents become mainstream, the demand for AI computing will accelerate.' Turning to the company's financial results for the quarter, we find that Nvidia's revenue came in at $44.1 billion, up 69% year-over-year and $810 million better than had been expected. The company's non-GAAP EPS figure, at 81 cents, was 6 cents per share above the forecasts. Data center revenue, at $39.1 billion, was the main revenue driver and was up 73% year-over-year. Nvidia's gross margin for the quarter was reported at approximately 61%. For 5-star analyst Joseph Moore, the key point for investors to remember about Nvidia is that the future looks good. The Morgan Stanley analyst writes in his note on this chip maker: 'Racks get better from here. China is entirely derisked, at least for direct shipments, and we are optimistic that there will be some path to monetize at least a portion of that demand. Gross margins have bottomed and are improving to the mid 70s, sustainably. And every customer commentary confirms that customers waiting for these new technologies have left demand on the table. So our confidence in durable demand drives is quite high. We think that our numbers are conservative given the variables at play, and we see a high probability of continued upward revisions.' Moore's comments support his Overweight (i.e., Buy) rating on NVDA stock, while his $170 price target points toward a one-year upside potential of 20%. (To watch Moore's track record, click here) Overall, Nvidia has earned a Strong Buy consensus rating from the Street's analysts, based on 40 reviews that include 35 Buys, 4 Holds, and 1Sell. The stock is priced at $141.72 and its $172.36 average price target implies a ~22% upside in the next 12 months. (See NVDA stock forecast) Palantir Technologies Palantir is another standout in the AI space. Founded in 2003 by venture capitalist Peter Thiel, the company has built a strong reputation as a leader in data analytics and software solutions. Like Nvidia, Palantir has leveraged its unique capabilities to ride the wave of the AI boom, and the results have been striking. Over the past three years, its stock has skyrocketed 1,291%, including a 69% gain year-to-date. These gains haven't come by chance. Palantir stock's growth is rooted in the strength of its data management and analysis tools, which are used by businesses, non-profits, and government agencies alike. At the center of its offerings is the AI Platform (AIP), a solution that blends advanced AI capabilities with human-driven decision-making. One of its key strengths lies in its accessibility – users can interact with the platform using natural language, without needing coding expertise. AIP also supports multilingual inputs and translation frameworks, making it easier for users around the world to engage with its tools. Palantir can currently boast more than 760 customers, from both the public and private sectors. The company's AI-powered data platforms are popular with big businesses, and Palantir can count such names as Stellantis and BP among its users, as well as the US Department of Defense. In May, Palantir received a $795 million contract modification to its Maven Smart System agreement with the Army, extending support through 2029. The company is also among the short‑listed firms – alongside SpaceX, Lockheed Martin – and others, being considered for President Trump's $175 billion Golden Dome missile defense program. On the financial side, Palantir has been singularly successful at generating strong revenues and earnings. In 1Q25, the last period reported, the company had a top line of $883.9 million, representing 39% year-over-year growth and beating the forecast by $21.72 million. At the bottom line, Palantir's EPS came to 13 cents in non-GAAP terms, matching analyst expectations. The company proved successful at closing large deals during the quarter, including 31 deals worth at least $10 million. Despite this strength, some caution is warranted. Morgan Stanley's Sanjit Singh remains confident in Palantir's fundamentals but cautions that the valuation may be stretched after such a strong run. 'Palantir continues to prove out that it is one of the clear AI winners in software which has translated to accelerating top-line growth of 30%+ and a rule of 40 score (revenue growth + operating margin) of 83%. While this represents elite level performance in software, the current valuation of ~95x CY27 FCF makes underwriting a return on Palantir shares extremely challenging. As a result, we remain EW and await a better entry point before getting more bullish,' Singh noted. Singh's Equal Weight (i.e., Hold) rating comes with a $98 price target, implying a potential 25% drop from current levels. It's safe to say that his ideal entry point lies somewhere south of that. (To view Singh's track record, click here) Morgan Stanley's view aligns with the broader Street consensus. Palantir holds a Hold rating overall, based on 18 recent analyst recommendations: 3 Buys, 11 Holds, and 4 Sells. The stock is currently trading at $127.72, while the average price target stands at $100.13, implying a potential ~22% downside over the coming year. (See PLTR stock forecast) With the facts laid out, the Morgan Stanley analysts come to a clear conclusion: Both of these AI stocks are solid performers, but Nvidia is the superior choice to buy right now. To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks' Best Stocks to Buy, a tool that unites all of TipRanks' equity insights.


Forbes
14 hours ago
- Forbes
Why We Need Global Prosocial AI Governance — Now
Abstract image of a person's profile symbolically composed of dials of different sizes. Concept man, ... More time, space The artificial intelligence revolution isn't coming — it's here. But unlike previous technological waves, AI's transformative power is being concentrated in the hands of remarkably few players, creating global imbalances that threaten to entrench existing inequalities for generations. As AI systems increasingly shape our economies, societies, and daily lives, we face a critical choice: Will we allow narrow market forces and geopolitical power dynamics to dictate AI's development, or will we proactively steer this technology toward benefiting humanity as a whole? It is late to set the stage for global prosocial AI governance, but it is not too late – yet. Before examining governance frameworks, we must confront an uncomfortable truth: the AI revolution is built on a foundation of extreme market concentration that makes Big Tech's dominance look almost quaint by comparison. Nvidia controls approximately 80 percent of revenues and shipments for datacenter GPU computing, the essential infrastructure powering modern AI systems. This isn't just market leadership — it's approaching technological hegemony. The implications extend far beyond corporate balance sheets. Collectively, the global south is home to just over 1 percent of the world's top computers, and Africa just 0.04 percent. Meanwhile, the U.S. government further restricts AI chip and technology exports, dividing up the world to keep advanced computing power in the United States and among its allies. This creates what development economists call a digital colonialism scenario — entire regions become structurally dependent on technology controlled by a handful of corporations and governments. The concentration isn't limited to hardware. Three cloud providers — Amazon, Microsoft, and Google — control over 65% of global cloud infrastructure, creating additional bottlenecks for AI access. When you need specialized chips from one company, hosted on infrastructure controlled by three others, and governed by regulations written primarily in wealthy nations, the barriers to entry become virtually insurmountable for most of the world's population. This hardware concentration translates into stark global inequalities that dwarf previous technological divides. The economic and social benefits of AI remain geographically concentrated, primarily in the Global North. But unlike the gradual rollout of previous technologies like the internet or mobile phones, AI's infrastructure requirements create immediate exclusion rather than delayed adoption. Consider the practical reality: training a state-of-the-art AI model requires computational resources that cost millions of dollars and consume as much electricity as entire cities. The rise of AI could exacerbate both within-country and between-country inequality, placing upward pressure on global inequality as high-income individuals and regions benefit disproportionately while resource-poor regions risk being left behind. This creates a vicious cycle. Countries and regions without access to AI infrastructure become less competitive economically, reducing their ability to invest in the very infrastructure they need to participate in the AI economy. Meanwhile, AI-enabled automation threatens to disrupt traditional export industries that many developing economies rely on, from manufacturing to service outsourcing. The result is what economists call premature deindustrialization — developing countries losing industrial competitiveness before achieving full industrialization. But now it's happening at digital speed, compressed from decades into years. Yet maybe the fundamental challenge with AI isn't the technology itself — it's the intention behind its development and deployment, now amplified by a sharpened concentration of control. Today's AI systems are predominantly designed to maximize engagement, extract value, or optimize narrow business metrics determined by a small number of actors. Social media algorithms amplify divisive content because controversy drives clicks. Hiring algorithms perpetuate bias because they're trained on historical data that reflects past discrimination. Financial AI systems may optimize for short-term profits while creating systemic risks. This is where prosocial AI governance becomes essential. Unlike traditional regulatory approaches that focus on constraining harmful outcomes, prosocial AI governance aims to actively incentivize beneficial behaviors from the outset. ProSocial AI can enhance access to essential services, improve efficiency in resource use, and promote sustainable practices across all levels of society — but only if we design governance systems that prioritize broad-based benefits over narrow optimization. The global AI regulation landscape is fragmented and rapidly evolving. Earlier optimism that global policymakers would enhance cooperation and interoperability within the regulatory landscape now seems distant. The European Union has pioneered comprehensive AI regulation through its AI Act, while other jurisdictions take vastly different approaches — from the United States' innovation-first philosophy to China's state-directed development model. This fragmentation creates several problems. First, it allows AI developers to engage in regulatory arbitrage, developing systems in jurisdictions with the most permissive rules. Second, it prevents the emergence of global standards that could ensure AI systems operate prosocially across borders. Third, it creates competitive disadvantages for companies that voluntarily adopt higher ethical standards. Given the borderless nature of this issue, an internationally coordinated response is necessary. AI systems don't respect national boundaries — a biased hiring algorithm developed in one country can perpetuate discrimination globally, while misinformation generated by AI can destabilize societies worldwide. Traditional regulatory approaches tend to prove inadequate for rapidly evolving technologies. By the time regulators identify and respond to harms, the damage has already been done. Prosocial AI governance offers a different approach: building beneficial outcomes into the DNA of AI systems from the beginning. This means designing AI systems that actively promote human flourishing rather than merely avoiding harm. Instead of social media algorithms that maximize engagement at all costs, we need systems that promote constructive dialogue and community building. Rather than AI systems that automate away human jobs without consideration for displaced workers, we need technologies that augment human capabilities and create new opportunities for meaningful work. Companies with strong environmental, social, and governance frameworks, enhanced by AI, outperform competitors financially and foster greater brand loyalty. This suggests that prosocial AI isn't just morally imperative — it's also economically advantageous for businesses that adopt it early. Forward-thinking business leaders are beginning to recognize that prosocial AI governance isn't a constraint on innovation—it's a competitive advantage. Organizations that proactively embed prosocial values into their AI systems build stronger relationships with customers, employees, and communities. They reduce regulatory risk, attract top talent who want to work on meaningful problems, and position themselves as leaders in an increasingly values-driven marketplace. Moreover, prosocial AI often leads to better technical outcomes. Systems designed with diverse stakeholders in mind tend to be more robust, adaptable, and effective across different contexts. AI systems built with fairness and transparency as core requirements often discover innovative solutions that benefit everyone. The economic argument becomes even stronger when considering systemic risks. AI systems that prioritize narrow optimization over broader social welfare can create negative externalities that ultimately harm the very markets they operate in. Financial AI that ignores systemic risk can contribute to market crashes. Recommendation systems that polarize societies can undermine the social cohesion that stable markets depend on. Establishing global prosocial AI governance requires coordinated action across multiple levels. International bodies need to develop frameworks that incentivize prosocial AI development while allowing for innovation and adaptation to local contexts. These frameworks should focus on outcomes rather than specific technologies, creating space for diverse approaches while ensuring consistent prosocial objectives. At the organizational level, companies need to move beyond compliance-based approaches to AI ethics. This means embedding prosocial considerations into product development processes, establishing clear accountability mechanisms, and investing in the technical infrastructure needed to build genuinely beneficial AI systems. Technical standards organizations should develop metrics and evaluation frameworks that measure prosocial outcomes, not just traditional performance metrics. We need ways to assess whether AI systems actually promote human flourishing, environmental sustainability, and social cohesion. The urgency cannot be overstated. As AI systems become more powerful and pervasive, the window for establishing prosocial governance frameworks is rapidly closing. Once entrenched systems and business models become established, changing them becomes exponentially more difficult and expensive. We're at a pivotal moment where the next generation of AI systems will be designed and deployed. The decisions we make now about how to govern these systems will shape society for decades to come. We can either allow narrow economic interests to drive AI development, or we can proactively steer this technology toward broadly beneficial outcomes. The challenge of prosocial AI governance isn't someone else's problem — it's a defining challenge of our time that requires leadership from every sector of society. Business leaders, policymakers, technologists, civil society organizations and ultimately each of us have roles in the AI-infused play that society has become. Prosocial AI governance isn't a constraint on innovation — it's the foundation for sustainable technological progress that benefits everyone. The time to act is now, before today's AI solutions become tomorrow's entrenched problems.


Skift
20 hours ago
- Skift
Travel Tech M&A Ramps Up: 40+ Deals in 3 Months
Economic uncertainty leads to lower valuations, and that means it can be a good time to buy for companies that have the means. Analysts were right: 2025 is shaping up to be a busy year for travel tech M&A. In the past three months alone, Skift has tracked more than 40 deals — many driven by companies flush with recent funding or looking to consolidate in a changing market. Skift has tracked more than 40 travel tech deals in the past three months alone. Much of the activity comes from tech companies with fresh funding from the past couple of years, which they secured in part to grow via M&A. Many large companies and investment firms are scooping up travel tech companies as well. Multiple late-stage startups — established businesses with a proven track record — raised big amounts last year as they seek to modernize the travel industry. But for younger startups, funding has been tight: So far this year, Skift has tracked fewer than 60 startup funding rounds, and only two were over $100 million. That's pacing much lower than last year when we tracked more than 200 fundings, with more than a dozen over $100 million. As investors have told Skift, economic uncertainty leads to lower valuations, and that means it can be a good time to buy for companies that have the means. Between startups running out of money and independent owners looking for an exit, there should still be plenty of opportunity. Below are details about more than 40 M&A deals involving travel tech from the past three months. The selling price for most of the deals was undisclosed. That often — but not always — means the deals were small. Boeing Selling Aviation Software for $10.55 Billion Private equity firm Thoma Bravo in April said it plans to purchase Boeing's aviation software business in an all-cash transaction of $10.55 billion, expected to close by the end of the year. The deal includes the software for airline operations, flight planning, and lease management: Jeppesen, ForeFlight, AerData, and OzRunways assets. Boeing is keeping a piece of fleet management software. The software business employs 3,900 people, including those who will remain with Boeing and those who work for the assets being sold. Amadeus Makes Two Acquisitions Amadeus, the distribution tech company, has made two acquisitions so far this year. The Madrid-based company acquired ForwardKeys, a travel data analytics firm, in the first quarter of the year. Amadeus paid $17.4 million (€15.3 million) for the company, which had about 100 employees, according to a document filed with the Spanish government. And at the end of April, Amadeus announced that it acquired Hermes, a tech product meant to streamline traveler screening at international borders. Amadeus bought the tech from Netherlands-based software company WCC Group. Amadeus made two acquisitions in 2024: Vision-Box for $347.7 million to expand its biometrics services for airports, and Voxel for $123.2 million to strengthen its payment tech services. Sabre Sold Its Hospitality Unit Sabre in April said it plans to sell its hotel tech business for $1.1 billion in cash to the private equity arm of San Francisco-based TPG. The deal is expected to close in the coming months. Sabre CEO Kurt Ekert had put a lot of effort into building the hotel tech unit since he started his role in 2023, but a top priority is reducing over $5 billion in debt. About 1,000 employees are moving with the sale, reducing Texas-based Sabre's headcount to about 5,500. Ekert talked more about the decision in an interview with Skift. JetBlue Ventures Sold to Private Equity The airline JetBlue in May said it sold its venture capital arm, JetBlue Ventures, to the private equity firm Sky Leasing as part of a focus on profitability. Amy Burr, CEO of JetBlue Ventures, spoke with Skift about what's next. JetBlue Ventures has invested in 55 early stage startups and made more 40 follow-on investments since it was founded in 2016. Eight of those companies have either been acquired or gone public, and a handful have gone out of business. JetBlue was the sole investor in JetBlue Ventures, and the investments always came from the airline's balance sheet, Burr said. That means the airline still has a stake in all the startups it has invested in so far, and the plan for now is to maintain that. JetBlue Ventures' total equity investments were valued at $89 million at the end of the first quarter this year, according to a public filing. American Express Acquires Center for Expense Management American Express in April acquired Center, a startup platform for expense management. American Express said it will integrate Center's tech with its corporate card program for commercial customers. The Center team joined American Express, the company said. The credit card company's expense management services historically have come through third-party platforms, including Concur and Emburse. Washington-based Center said its platform is meant to give businesses real-time visibility into employee spending, as well as automate accounting tasks and streamline expense submission processes. Lighthouse and Duetto Complete Their First Post-Funding Deals Lighthouse and Duetto both made their first acquisitions since getting fresh capital in recent months. Lighthouse, the London-based tech platform meant to help hotels drive revenue, raised $370 million last November. It acquired The Hotels Network in April, a Barcelona-based tech company focused on marketing and distribution for hotels. The deal added a new offering for Lighthouse and more than 20,000 hotel clients. (See Skift's story.) Duetto, the San Francisco-based hotel revenue management platform, last June was acquired by private equity firm GrowthCurve Capital for an undisclosed sum. The company in April acquired UK-based hotel data analytics firm HotStats. Lyft Acquires Freenow to Enter Europe Rideshare app Lyft in April said it plans to acquire taxi reservation app Freenow from BMW Group and Mercedes-Benz Mobility for $197 million. The deal is expected to close in the coming months. San Francisco-based Lyft operates in the U.S. and Canada. It reported that it reached an all-time high of 44 million annual riders in 2024. Germany-based Freenow operates in 150 cities across Ireland, the UK, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Poland, France, and Austria. Lyft said the combined company will have more than 50 million annual riders. Bolt Makes Its First Acquisition Bolt, the rideshare app, in March acquired Viggo to expand services into Denmark. Estonia-based Bolt operates in more than 50 countries. Besides rideshare and airport pickup, Bolt offers car rentals, delivery, and e-bike and scooter rentals. Viggo operates a fleet of more than 300 electric vehicles and has 450,000 users in Copenhagen and Aarhus. Bolt already had e-bike rental operations in Copenhagen. Hotelbeds Acquires Civitfun, Its First Deal Post-IPO HBX Group, the owner of hotel wholesaler Hotelbeds, said in May that it acquired hotel tech company Civitfun. The company bought Civitfun for $3.4 million (€3 million) 'plus a deferred consideration contingent on the achievement of future EBITDA levels,' according to a filing with the UK government. Spain-based HBX Group negotiates discounted rates for 250,000 hotels — including 100,000 that it has direct contracts with — and then marks them up for more than 60,000 travel sellers. Spain-based Civitfun primarily offers digital check-in and check-out tech for hotels and vacation rentals, as well as products for hotel and guest communications, upselling, and company said it had 3,500 clients. HBX Group said its hotel partners now have access to the Civitfun tech, and the company plans to strengthen that tech. Spain-based HBX Group went public in February at a valuation of $3.3 billion (€2.84 billion) deal. Former CNBC Host Acquires Dylan Ratigan, the former CNBC and MSNBC host and serial entrepreneur, in March acquired hotel-booking site and became the new CEO. Ratigan said he was attracted to for the domain name, and the potential to expand its hotel business, as well as to branch out into travel-adjacent verticals, such as restaurants and event tickets. In 2022, HotelPlanner and were slated to merge with a shell company and go public in a SPAC deal valued at $688 million. But the three companies called off the marriage without explanation in February 2022. Mondee Acquired Out of Bankruptcy Mondee, a booking platform for travel agents, in April said that it had been acquired and exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Mondee co-founder and Chairman Prasad Gundumogula acquired a majority stake in the company as a co-owner of the buyer, a company called Tabhi. Other Tabhi owners include affiliates of TCW Asset Management Company, Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Mondee had been a public company before it was delisted from Nasdaq in December. SITA Acquires Airport Design Company CCM SITA, the airline-owned tech provider for much of the air travel industry, in March said it acquired airport design company CCM. Switzerland-based SITA provides tech for passenger processing, baggage handling, and airport operations, and more. Milan-based CCM said it has designed more than 300 airports worldwide. SITA says the deal is meant to combine tech and interior design as more airports prioritize self-service, biometrics, mobile apps, and IT spending. SITA says it is working to improve the passenger journey process ahead of an expected two-fold increase in air traffic by 2040. Juniper Travel Technology Adds Another Company Juniper Travel Technology acquired RezMagic, a Florida-based event management software company that focuses on the cruise industry. Juniper Travel Technology is a business unit of Juniper Group, which is an operating portfolio of Vela Software, one of the six divisions of Toronto-based Constellation Software. Juniper Group owns more than 30 companies, including around a dozen in travel. The company plans to buy as many as a dozen travel tech companies this year, said Jaime Sastre, CEO of Juniper Group, in an interview with Skift in January. Tripadvisor completed its $430 million merger with parent company Liberty Tripadvisor Holdings, a deal announced last December. Amex GBT and CWT extended the deadline for their merger to close from March 21 to Dec. 31, been an ongoing U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit to block the deal, which was first announced in March 2024. CWT's value was reduced from $570 million to $540 million. Tech firm Prosus in May completed its acquisition of Despegar, Latin America's largest online travel company, for $1.7 billion. The deal was announced in December. Other Acquisitions