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Frosch Travel International acquires Valerie Wilson Travel

Merger of two leading tmcs, members of signature travel network and virtuoso consortias.

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New York-based luxury travel management company Valerie Wilson Travel has been acquired by Frosch International Travel .

The merger last month sees a coming together of two leading US travel industry families, the Wilsons of Valerie Wilson Travel (VWT) and the Liebmans of FROSCH, reports Travel Age West .

The arrangement will see VWT – a member of Virtuoso – continue to be led by the company’s founder, Valerie Wilson, as an independent brand. Jennifer Wilson-Buttigieg and Kimberly Wilson Wetty will remain as co-presidents of VWT, while both also will join FROSCH’s executive team.

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FROSCH President and CEO Bryan Leibman said there has been a long-time mutual respect between the two family-run TMCs.

Through the acquisition, VWT clients now will benefit from additional services offered under the Frosch corporate umbrella, Leibman said. These include Frosch’s single global platform and technology infrastructure, and end-to-end service model which also includes TCG Consulting,

For Frosch, a member of the Signature Travel Network, the arrangement continues a longtime growth strategy built around not only expanding its client list and market share, but also enhancing its overall service offerings in a “smart growth” approach, Leibman said.

In 2020, Frosch purchased CorpTrav and Luxe Travel, as well as taking a majority stake in Plaza Travel. Earlier this year the company got a capital infusion from private equity firm EagleTree Capital with an eye on further acquisition opportunities, Business Travel News reported.

In April, Frosch signed an agreement to utilise Serko’s Zeno platform for its transactions.

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Valerie Wilson Travel Agency Acquired by Frosch

Rafat Ali, Skift

May 4th, 2021 at 9:17 PM EDT

Two well-known family travel agencies come under one umbrella, driven by private equity backing to grow. Expect more such deals to happen in the coming months.

Valerie Wilson Travel , one of the iconic family-owned luxury travel agencies, has been acquired by the much larger travel management company  Frosch , which is also family-owned but recently got minority investment from private equity investment from PE firm EagleTree Capital.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Frosch had with $2.4 billion in 2019 sales, while Valerie Wilson Travel had $325 million in sales, according to annual Travel Weekly Power List .

NYC-based Valerie Wilson Travel will continue to operate independently under its current brand, headed by founder and CEO Valerie Ann Wilson, who founded the agency in 1981. With this deal, Frosch continues on its acquisition streak, and even during the pandemic since last year it has acquired CorpTrav and Luxe Travel and took a majority stake in Plaza Travel.

The two agencies are part of different consortia and plan to continue with the arrangement: VWT with Virtuoso, and Frosch with Signature Travel Network.

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FROSCH Acquires New York’s 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.

The plan is also for Valerie Wilson Travel to remain operating with its consortia, Virtuoso, while FROSCH continues its connection to Signature.

“I founded Valerie Wilson Travel to provide the personalized, luxury travel service I was personally seeking. I am very proud of the company we built together with Jennifer, Kimberly, Brian, and the entire VWT team,” Valerie Ann Wilson said in a statement announcing the news.

“Knowing the VWT name and brand will not only remain but be strengthened as part of this transaction was vitally important to me. I am looking forward to growing our family brands together,” she added.

 Bryan Leibman, president and CEO of FROSCH, said the deal creates “a powerful alliance that expands our footprint in New York City and the tri-state area.”

“This transaction reaffirms our confidence in our industry’s recovery, our commitment to New York, and our unwavering dedication to providing the very best service and support to our clients, employees, and IC partners. I am delighted to welcome VWT and am confident that together we will achieve great success,” he added.

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