Long Lake completes $6.3B take-private of Amex GBT, its 40th acquisition
What's the deal? Long Lake completed its all-cash acquisition of American Express Global Business TravelDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (Amex GBT) on 29 September 2026, valuing the company at about $6.3B. Shareholders received $9.50 per share, a 65.1% premium to the 30-day VWAP at signing. The deal was announced in May 2026 and approved by shareholders in August 2026; Amex GBT has been delisted from the NYSE and is now privately held. It was financed with equity from Long Lake's existing investors and Koch Equity DevelopmentDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, plus a $1.5B first-lien term loan and a $250M revolving facility arranged by JPMorgan.
The scale: Amex GBT is the travel partner for 17,500 businesses in 140 countries and last year booked 35 million trips for 10 million travellers. It is Long Lake's 40th acquisition, and co-founder and CEO Alex Taubman says the group now employs nearly 30,000 people. Long Lake was founded only three years ago, which prompted investor Elad Gil to note that it "didn't exist 3 years ago" and now employs about 30,000 people through M&A and AI.
The model: Long Lake buys strong, profitable, growing services businesses and deploys AI inside them through its Nexus platform, with engineers working alongside frontline staff. Taubman says the first cohort of portfolio companies doubled EBITDA in under two years through topline and productivity growth while increasing headcount, and that Long Lake has never conducted a layoff. Amex GBT CEO Paul Abbott says customers can expect agentic customer tools and AI-assisted travel counsellors. Long Lake is backed by General Catalyst, Alpha Wave, D1, Thrive and Elad Gil.
Why it matters: This is the largest completed "AI roll-up" take-private so far. It shows venture-backed holding companies moving from small private services firms into public, people-heavy incumbents.
Read more: Alex Taubman on X · Elad Gil on X · Business Wire · SEC Form 8-K · CNBC
