Amadeus has announced it is acquiring Vision-Box, a provider of biometric solutions for airports, airlines and border control customers.

The acquisition of Vision-Box will bring new capabilities around biometrics hardware and software, adding border control solutions to the Amadeus portfolio.

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.

This acquisition will contribute to Amadeus’ ambition to connect the travel industry through a seamless ecosystem approach.

With this in mind, this 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, optimizing operations, and driving effective disruption management.

Decius Valmorbida, President, Travel, Amadeus, commented: “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 travelers: it’s how travel works better.”

Vision-Box, which is a fast-growing global business with expected revenues of €70 million, and an estimated normalized EBITDA of close to €20 million 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 €320 million.

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.

Miguel Leitmann, founder of Vision-Box, added: “I’m extremely excited about the growth opportunities for Vision-Box as we join Amadeus, a leading travel technology player with a global footprint.

“Together we can deliver the next big step in the travel experience: to unite all separate players and systems in a single, digitally- integrated, and orchestrated ecosystem.

“This compelling value proposition will drive user experience, on-time-performance, infrastructure usage, and other key indicators to new levels of efficiency.”