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From left, Kimberly Wilson Wetty, Jennifer Wilson-Buttigieg, Brian Buttigieg, Valerie Wilson, Richard Leibman, Lara Leibman and Bryan Leibman.
Consolidation among travel agencies was heating up even before the pandemic. And now, more than a year into the Covid-19 crisis, with margins stretched thin, cash in short supply and buyers and sellers both looking to strengthen their competitive positions through mergers, it has become an active marketplace for agencies that have the capital and drive to grow through acquisitions.
Last week, two major acquisitions were announced. Frosch International Travel (No. 14 on Travel Weekly s 2020 Power List) acquired Valerie Wilson Travel (No. 36). Additionally, American Express Global Business Travel (GBT, No. 3) said it plans to acquire Egencia, the corporate-travel arm of No. 1 Expedia Group, pending regulatory approvals.
âA Historic Acquisitionâ: FROSCH and VWT Talk Acquisition
May 06, 2021
From left to right: Kimberly Wilson-Wetty; Jennifer Wilson-Buttigieg; Brian Buttigieg; Valerie Wilson; Richard Leibman; Lara Leibman; and Bryan Leibman.
The deal will see VWT operate under the FROSCH umbrella. It will also see the bringing together of two of the travel industry’s most storied families, the Wilsons, led by Valerie Wilson and her children, and the Leibmans, led by Richard Leibman and his children.
Richard and Valerie have a relationship that goes back almost four decades. The two met on a joint advisory board 38 years ago, and the coming together is a natural fit for two second-generation family businesses that have admired each other’s success in the industry.
FROSCH Acquires New Yorkâs Iconic Valerie Wilson Travel
The VWT team at their New York office opening in 2018.
New York’s Valerie Wilson Travel is being acquired by Frosch International Travel, joining two of the travel industry’s most storied families together under one umbrella.
Valerie Wilson Travel will continue to operate as an independent brand, with the agency’s executives remaining in their positions and joining FROSCH’s executive and leadership team Valerie Ann Wilson will remain as CEO; Jennifer Wilson-Buttigieg and Kimberly Wilson Wetty will remain as co-presidents; Brian Buttigieg will be appointed VWT’s COO effective immediately and will join FROSCH as general counsel’ and Patrick Fragale, executive vice president for VWT, will expand his responsibilities.