Serko completes $12 million acquisition of GetThere from Sabre

Serko has completed its US$12 million acquisition of online booking platform GetThere from Sabre and announced plans to invest US$100 million on creating the “travel platform of the future”.

The closure of the deal, which sees New Zealand-based Serko pay Sabre US$10 million in cash with an additional US$2 million in cash or shares later this year, is in line with the schedule outlined by the companies when the transaction was announced in October 2024.

The deal also initiates a long-term partnership between Sabre and Serko, including co-development and investment. Sabre’s North American sales team will also co-sell and market Serko’s solutions.

GetThere’s VP Brett Dowling said the GetThere team is “well on the way to a successful post-merger integration”, with its staff in the UK, Australia and India already having transitioned to Serko. US team members will move over to Serko in February.

Serko said it has already started expanding the GetThere team and plans “an accelerated investment in product and technology” from its development hub in Bengaluru, India.

Darrin Grafton, Serko’s CEO, added it would be investing US$100 million over the next three years to “build the travel platform of the future” following the acquisition.

“We see a significant opportunity for great technology to help companies optimise their travel programmes and deliver an exceptional user experience for their travel bookers and traveller,” added Grafton.

“In time, this platform will power all of Serko’s products, including GetThere, Zeno and Booking.com for Business with data and AI built in to help you take advantage of emerging technology capabilities.”

GetThere was one of the pioneers of corporate online booking tools after starting life as the Internet Travel Network in the 1990s. Under Sabre’s ownership, the OBT has continued to add features including New Distribution Capability content and a new air shopping experience.

The acquisition makes Serko the second-largest corporate online booking provider in North America, behind only Concur.