Stamford, Connecticut-based cxLoyalty Group Holdings Inc. plans to sell its Global Loyalty division to JPMorgan Chase, a deal that JPMorgan said would give its credit card customers “enhanced travel experiences.”
The transaction, which is expected to close in the coming days, includes cxLoyalty’s technology platforms, full-service travel agency, gift card, merchandise and points bank businesses.
Following the deal, cxLoyalty will operate as a business unit within JPMorgan. The current CEO of cxLoyalty, Todd Siegel, will join JPMorgan as CEO for this unit.
Marianne Lake, JPMorgan’s CEO of consumer lending, said in a statement that acquiring cxLoyalty’s travel and rewards businesses would “provide enhanced experiences to our millions of Chase customers once they are ready, comfortable and confident to travel.”
“This investment demonstrates our commitment to deliver exceptional travel benefits at-scale to our large and rapidly growing customer base,” Lake said. “People across the globe want to vacation and travel again, and hopefully that will become a reality for many in the near future.”
JPMorgan in its statement pointed to cxLoyalty’s expertise in designing, administering and fulfilling loyalty programs.
“The deal is expected to accelerate the strong foundation built in loyalty, including for Chase’s Ultimate Rewards platform and cxLoyalty’s existing clients, to enable a more holistic, end-to-end customer travel journey for all customers,” JPMorgan said.
Siegel added that the partnership would allow cxLoyalty to strengthen and expand technology solutions, rewards content and personalized customer experience.
Not included in the deal is cxLoyalty’s Global Customer Engagement Division. Greg Miller, cxLoyalty’s current chief financial officer and chief operating officer, will lead this division going forward.
In a separate statement from cxLoyalty, Siegel said the deal would benefit cxLoyalty’s clients, customers, employees and other stakeholders.
“We have built two strong, distinct businesses, and we look forward to enhancing their focus on their unique strategic priorities and market opportunities,” Siegel said. “We anticipate the transition to be seamless. Our employees have worked tirelessly to achieve this milestone, and thanks to their efforts we are positioning both cxLoyalty and the Global Customer Engagement Division for an even stronger future.”
The Global Customer Engagement Division expects to use the sale proceeds to strengthen its balance sheet, according to the statement, allowing it to further invest in “customer and content intelligence to deliver differentiated personalized solutions.”
With 3,100 associates in 19 countries, cxLoyalty currently has 70 million consumers with approximately 3,000 client and marketing partner relationships. Elliott Management is one of cxLoyalty’s largest shareholders and will continue to support the Global Customer Engagement Division, Miller said in the statement.
