FCm close in on US acquisition
BTS Special Report: FCm Travel Solutions is poised to acquire a US company as it seeks to cement its global position in the market.
The deal will realise one of FCm’s key objectives which it outlined at its launch last summer. Global executive general manager Anthony Grigson said the US was a “major target.”
Although FCm has a US presence on the west coast, it was keen to strengthen its position in the east of the country.
Speaking at the Business Travel Show in London, director of client services Karen Spence confirmed it was closing in on a deal but declined to reveal details.
“An acquisition is imminent but we can’t talk too much about it at this stage,” she told TravelMole. “We are not in a position to disclose details but it will give us stronger focus on the east coast.
“From a global point of view, a lot of corporate buying is driven out of the US so it’s important to be there.”
Meanwhile, Spence said the recent upheaval in the industry would create “healthy competition” in the market.
Of its own outlook, Spence said the strategy was for “steady, controlled growth”. It will continue to expand in the EMEA, Asia Pacific and the Americas as part of a 2010 aim to secure 15% market share in each region.
Managing director Alan Spence said: “The industry has faced up to so many challenges in the last four years but we have come through that and, barring any accidents, we expect 2006 to be a positive year.”
The company claimed it secured 20 new accounts in the last quarter of 2005 totalling £23 million worth of business.
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