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CANADA/UK. GuestLogix has strengthened its leadership in the onboard retail and payment technology market after acquiring UK-based Initium Onboard, which trades as BOM Merchant Technologies, for £3.3 million (US$5.25 million). The company said that the deal, which was approved by the board of Initium Onboard, increases its share of the global airline retail technology market from 40% to 46%.
The companies will continue to serve their respective clients with their own solutions, GuestLogix said, but with the ability to offer customers a wider array of technologies in the future.
Initium Onboard has 27 customers, representing 188 million airline passenger trips and 62 million rail passenger trips each year, with clients including Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Flybe, Etihad Airways and flydubai. GuestLogix said that Initium’s business with Webjet in South America and Air New Zealand in Asia Pacific gave it access to two key strategic growth regions.
GuestLogix CEO Tom Douramakos said that the acquisition was a significant addition to the company’s existing base of around one billion annual passenger trips. He added that the deal allows GuestLogix to build on Initium’s rail client base – including East Coast, Eurostar, and Thalys – to form a specialist Global Rail Division.
He said: “We will be better positioned to execute on key growth strategies, such as further penetrating the rail industry and introducing destination-based merchandising programs on board, as Initium Onboard has proven success in both of these areas.”
Initium Onboard President and CEO Thomas Drohan said: “We are excited about joining the GuestLogix team and creating even more value for our clients and the market as a whole going forward. We are confident that this transaction will enable our customers to further enhance their onboard retailing programs. They will benefit from a broader portfolio of onboard retail technologies and a larger global customer support infrastructure.”
