TORONTO — Flight Centre Travel Group (FLT) is acquiring the U.S. Operations of Casto Travel Inc. (CTI) as part of its plans to strengthen its North America presence.
FLT has entered into a Unit Purchase Agreement with the Silicon Valley-based company, which is expected to close early February 2019.
According to FLT managing director Graham Turner, the new business is a significant addition to FLT’s increasingly diverse global network. “Casto strengthens our overall U.S. operation, which includes the highly successful and rapidly growing corporate travel business, along with our on and offline leisure businesses and wholesaler GOGO.”
Established in 1974, CTI is one of the leading independent travel management companies in the San Francisco Bay Area, employing 85 people and generating total transaction volume of $120 million. It serves largely corporate travel, complemented with a premium leisure offer from its three offices in San Jose, San Francisco and Tiburon.
Turner added: “This will give us greater scale in Silicon Valley and in the large West Coast market, where we previously had a relatively small corporate travel presence, while also complementing our larger operations on the East Coast and in other key locations.”
Dean Smith, President of the Flight Centre Travel Group for the Americas, said acquiring CTI represents a significant piece of FLT’s future growth and strategic direction in the USA. “This acquisition provides us a tremendous opportunity to increase our presence in the West as well as leverage CTI’s local expertise and reputation for excellent service in one of the largest corporate travel markets in the world.”
Both Marc Casto and Maryles Casto will remain with the company in executive roles post acquisition.
“Casto’s focus on pairing industry-leading travel technology with a continual commitment to excellence in service has created a history of success in Silicon Valley. We are excited to partner with Flight Centre Travel Group and extend their best-in-class global platform in this highly dynamic marketplace,” said Marc Casto, President and CEO of Casto Travel.
