TripActions raises $300 million at $9.2 billion valuation, eyes IPO in 2023
The travel-tech company raised $154 million in equity from new and existing financial investors, as well as a $150 million structured capital transaction led by Coatue
Israeli travel-tech company TripActions announced on Wednesday its Series G financing at a post-money valuation of $9.2 billion. The raise, a combination of $154 million in equity from new and existing financial investors, as well as a $150 million structured capital transaction led by Coatue, marks the third financing round for the company in three years. Since early 2020, TripActions has more than doubled its valuation after rebounding impressively from the pandemic.
“TripActions is building the best travel and expense management solution in the world. The recent funding round shows not only the strength of its business model, but also the value to companies looking to increase savings and enable responsible spending,” said TripActions CEO and co-founder, Ariel Cohen. “TripActions is proof that empowering users through relentless innovation and automation is the future of travel.”
The funding will be used to accelerate the TripActions Group’s rapid global expansion, which in the past year includes the acquisitions of travel management companies Reed & Mackay, Comtravo, and Resia, as well as the launch of TripActions Liquid in Europe and office openings in Portugal, Germany, France, and the UK. As of the end of July 2022, TripActions currently has more than 2,500 employees across nearly 60 global offices.
“We view the raise more as insurance for us to continue to be very aggressive right in the face of this uncertain market,” said Thomas Tuchscherer, chief financial officer at TripActions. “We are investing for the company to be ready to be a public company."
Business Insider reported last month that TripActions had filed confidential paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering.
"We are not far from an IPO, we believe that something very big can be built here, something like Amazon but for business travel,” TripActions CEO and co-founder Ariel Cohen told Calcalist last October after it raised $275 million at a $7.25 billion valuation. “Something that is not built in six-and-a-half years but in 20 years, and not only through private financing, so we will go public. I guess we are not far from an IPO but I want to see more stability and visibility considering Covid."
While the economy in general, and the stock market in particular, have suffered a dramatic downturn since Cohen spoke last October, according to Business Insider, TripActions still has its sights set on a public listing during next year.
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TripActions has changed the way companies manage their business travel, booking a flight, hotel, or rental car. It developed software for such trips, which enables the workplace to reduce expenses and gain better control over them. The software can also plan the trip itself, for example, it can arrange for Covid tests at the country of destination. It also provides the employee with a credit card for the trip, which is another means of income for TripActions through fees. In addition, it also allows employees to travel privately using its services.
TripActions was founded in 2015 by Cohen and Ilan Twig, two veteran Israeli entrepreneurs living in Silicon Valley. The previous funding round was led by Greenoaks Capital with the participation of investor Elad Gil, Base Partners, and the principal investors who took part in previous investing rounds. The company's past investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed, Oren Zeev’s Zeev Ventures, and Dovi Frances’ Group 11. The company established an R&D center in Tel Aviv last year.
