Atlanta -- BCD Holdings, the Dutch parent of WorldTravel BTI, the large corporate travel management company based here, plans to end its partnership with U.K.-based Hogg Robinson and acquire interests in two other corporate travel agencies.
The move is part of a series of deals that will result in a major realignment of travel management companies globally.
On Tuesday, BCD Holdings said it will end its Business Travel International (BTI) joint venture with Hogg Robinson and will acquire the TQ3 travel management interests of German travel giant TUI as well as the U.K.-based corporate travel agency, The Travel Company.
Once the BCD Holdings acquisitions are completed, expected in March, the company plans to bring all of its travel-management assets, including WorldTravel BTI, under one company with a new name.
"These acquisitions change the landscape of travel management," said WorldTravel BTI chief executive Mike Buckman, who will become CEO of the new company. "With the integration of these leaders in travel management, our global capabilities span five continents, and we are stronger than ever."
The new company, which is expected to be based in either London or Amsterdam, will rank among the top three corporate travel management firms in the world, according to a BCD statement. The company will consist of 52 affiliate agencies in the United States and more than 10,000 employees worldwide, and will process travel purchases totaling $8 billion annually.
Chicago-based WorldTravel Meetings & Incentives, the meetings management arm of WorldTravel BTI, managed about 1,200 meetings of all kinds last year, about one-third of which were international meetings.
Hogg Robinson said it will continue to market the BTI brand name for the foreseeable future in what appears to be a dispute with BCD Holdings, which said that the BTI name will disappear.
Hogg Robinson serves as BTI's managing partner and controls BTI partners in 21 countries. Founded in 1990, the BTI network of agencies extends into about 100 companies.
Denver-based Navigant International, which jointly owns the TQ3 network of travel agencies with TUI, will acquire the TQ3 brand outright. The TQ3 network currently maintains a presence in some 90 countries.