Travelport
| File:Travelport.svg | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Travel Conglomerate |
| Founded |  2001 |
| Headquarters | Parsippany, New Jersey |
Key people | Jeff Clarke, CEO & President, Travelport Ken Esterow, President & CEO, GTA Gordon Wilson, President & CEO, Travelport GDS Mike Rescoe, Executive Vice President and CFO, Travelport Eric Bock, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer, Travelport Pat Bourke, Executive Vice President of Operations and Chief Re-engineering Officer, Travelport JoAnne Kruse, Executive Vice President of Human Resources, Travelport |
| Revenue | Approx. US$3.4 billion in 2006 (including Worldspan) |
Number of employees | Approx. 7,500 |
| Subsidiaries | Galileo Worldspan GTA (Gullivers Travel Associates) Shepherd Systems aiRES Galileo Rail OctopusTravel.com THOR Travel Bound Trust International |
| Website | www.Travelport.com |
Travelport is a travel services information provider and has a global computer reservations system. Travelport owns the Worldspan and Galileo global distributions systems and Gullivers Travel Associates (GTA), a wholesaler of global travel content. It owns a significant share of Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE:OWW).
The company had a 2006 revenue of approximately $3.4 billion (including Worldspan) and operates in 145 countries with a workforce of 7,500 globally.[1] It appears in the Fortune 500 and is number 133 in the Forbes list of private companies. [2]
History
Travelport's predecessor, Travel Distribution Services (TDS), was founded in 2001 through the acquisition of Galileo International by TDS's parent, Cendant Corporation. Travelport was formed in August 2006, when Cendant sold Orbitz and Galileo to The Blackstone Group in a deal valued at $4.3 billion. The sale of Travelport followed the spin-offs of Cendant's real estate and hospitality businesses, Realogy Corporation and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation, respectively, on July 31, 2006. Travelport is now owned by The Blackstone Group, Technology Crossover Ventures and One Equity Partners.[3][4] In April 2006, Cendant hired Jeff Clarke as president and CEO of Travel Distribution Services to lead the sale of the division. He is currently CEO, president and a member of the Board of Directors of Travelport and Chairman of the Board of Orbitz Worldwide, Inc.
In March 2007, Travelport's parent companies, Travelport Holdings Limited, paid a $1.1 billion dividend to its shareholders funded by a payment-in-kind (PIK) recapitalization of the company. The company later announced in May 2007 that it had filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to sell a portion of Orbitz Worldwide in an Initial Public Offering (IPO). The IPO was priced on July 20, 2007, opening at $15.00 per share, and closed on July 25, 2007. A month later, Travelport acquired Worldspan for $1.4 billion on August 21, 2007, integrating it with Galileo.
On September 19, 2007, Travelport became the first travel company to receive a 100 percent rating on the annual Corporate Equality Index that is awarded by the American Human Rights Campaign Foundation.[5]
Brands of Travelport
- Galileo
- Worldspan
- GTA (Gullivers Travel Associates)
- Shepherd Systems
- aiRES
- Galileo Rail
- OctopusTravel.com
- THOR
- Travel Bound
- Trust International
References
- ^ "Travelport Appoints Management Team of its GDS business", CNN, September 10, 2007. Accessed September 27, 2007.
- ^ "Travelport Limited", Hoovers.com, September 10, 2007. Accessed September 27, 2007.
- ^ Sachdev, Ameet. " Orbitz travels to 4th owner: Blackstone Group to buy from Cendant.", Chicago Tribune, July 1, 2006. Accessed September 15, 2007.
- ^ Fineman, Josh. "Cendant to Sell Orbitz to Blackstone for $4.3 Bln", Bloomberg.com, June 30, 2006. Accessed September 15, 2007.
- ^ Ferris, Bev. "Travelport gets human rights accolade", travelmole.com, September 19, 2007. Accessed September 27, 2007.