CWT (company)

CWT (formerly Carlson Wagonlit Travel) is a travel management company that manages business travel, meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions, and handles event management.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the firm reported US$23 billion in total transaction volume in 2018.[1] It is ranked 5th on the list of top earning travel companies published by Travel Weekly.[2]

History

CWT has existed in its present form since 1994, the result of a merger of two large travel agencies: the Carlson Travel Network (originally called the Ask Mr. Foster Travel Agency) and the travel agency division of Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, founded by Georges Nagelmackers in 1872 in Belgium and acquired by Accor in 1991.[3]

On April 27, 2006, Accor announced the sale of its 50% interest in CWT: 5% to Carlson and 45% to One Equity Partners, an affiliate of JP Morgan Chase.[4] On June 22, 2014, Carlson, which owned a 55% stake in CWT, agreed to acquire the 45% interest in CWT held by JPMorgan Chase.[5][6][7]

On February 19, 2019, two years after launching RoomIt by CWT,[8][9] dedicated to hotel distribution, the company rebranded as CWT.[10] On July 31, 2020, the Register reported that CWT was the victim of a ransomware incident a week earlier, in which they paid US$4.5 million.[11]

In 2022, CWT had a capital injection which resulted in Carlson becoming a minority shareholder.[12]

On March 25, 2024, rival American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) announced its intention to buy CWT for $570 million.[13] In January 2025, the US Department of Justice sued to block the acquisition.[14]

On September 2, 2025, Amex GBT announced that it had completed its purchase of CWT.[15]

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