Dublin firm CarTrawler acquired by Expedia Group

Take-over of CarTrawler by US travel technology firm, owner of Expedia and Hotels.com, expected to be completed in second half of year

CarTrawler chief executive Peter O’Donovan.

Dublin-headquartered travel software firm CarTrawler has announced it has entered into an agreement to be acquired by the US travel firm the Expedia Group.

CarTrawler provides businesses to business (B2B) technology focused around car rentals, ground transport and other insurtech solutions to the global travel industry. The Expedia Group is a US travel technology firm that owns a number of firms including Expedia and Hotels.com.

CarTrawler said the deal represented a “strategic milestone for both companies” which would “unlock new opportunities for supply partners”.

CarTrawler chief executive Peter O’Donovan said the company’s acquisition by Expedia Group was a “testament to the strength of our technology, the drive of our people, our track record of innovation and our accelerating commercial momentum”.

“This exciting combination allows us to advance our mission as part of travel’s best and most complete B2B engine, unlocking new opportunities for innovation and growth.” 

Expedia Group chief commercial officer Alfonso Paredes said the deal was “another huge, exciting step towards our ambition of building the most complete B2B travel platform”.

“Last year, Expedia Group B2B set out a bold vision to expand our APIs beyond lodging. Acquiring Tiqets helped us solve for activities at scale. Adding CarTrawler now extends that same strategy into car rentals, ground transport and insurtech.” 

CarTrawler works with firms such as Ryanair, American Airlines, Air France-KLM, Uber, easyJet, eDreams ODIGEO and American Express. In addition to Dublin, it also has offices in Paris, London, New York and Sydney and employs more than 300 people.

The acquisition, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to be completed in the second half of 2026.

In August last year, CarTrawler announced it had acquired Paris-based travel-insurance technology firm Koala.