Through this combined offering with Vision-Box, Amadeus will now be able to deliver a full end-to-end seamless passenger experience from booking to arrival at the airport, through border control and boarding.
The acquisition will contribute to Amadeus’ ambition to connect the travel industry through a seamless ecosystem approach. With this in mind, the deal will deliver outstanding biometrics interoperability between airports, airlines and border control authorities. Additionally, it will complement and improve Amadeus’ existing airline and airport value proposition, which focuses on providing a frictionless experience for all passengers, optimising operations, and driving effective disruption management.
The use of biometrics in border control is expected to grow significantly in the coming years – with the Biometrics Research Group estimating the global biometrics sector will grow to $86.1bn by 2028 from its projected 2023 value of $47.8bn. This growth is being pushed by the travel industry’s increased focus on the digitalisation of the passenger journey to improve the experience of travel, meet operational pressures, and deliver against regulatory demands.
Vision-Box, which is a fast-growing global business with expected revenues of €70m, and an estimated normalized EBITDA of close to €20m in 2023, is partially owned by Keensight Capital, a private equity fund dedicated to pan-European Growth Buyout investments. Amadeus will be fully acquiring privately-owned Vision-Box for an agreed price (EV) of approximately €320m. As part of this acquisition, approximately 470 Vision-Box employees will transfer to Amadeus. The deal is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first half of 2024.
“Biometrics is a strategic and fast-growing industry, and Vision-Box’s capabilities will allow us to accelerate our growth in this area. With a portfolio which is deeply complementary to our existing offering for both airports and airlines, our combined best-in-class solutions will now deliver a seamless passenger journey from booking to boarding. This acceleration of our ecosystem approach will bring immediate and tangible benefits to our customers and travellers: it’s how travel works better,” said Decius Valmorbida, president, travel, Amadeus.
