Sabre Corporation has entered into an agreement to acquire Farelogix, with Sabre expecting the move to accelerate the delivery of its end-to-end NDC-enabled retailing, distribution and fulfilment solutions.

The company says acquiring Farelogix’ airline-controlled retailing, merchandising and distribution capabilities will complement its own existing retailing and merchandising solutions and future product roadmap.

Building on Farelogix’s GDS- and PSS-agnostic capabilities, Sabre expects to drive faster innovation in the airline IT space to enable airlines to accelerate their own growth and profitability while benefiting customers across the travel ecosystem.

“Farelogix’s investments in offer management and NDC order delivery will help us accelerate our plans to deliver future-ready retailing, distribution and fulfilment solutions that unlock increased value for the industry,” said Sean Menke, president & CEO. “By integrating Farelogix’s capabilities into Sabre’s leading airline technology platform, we’ll be able to offer the innovative and comprehensive solutions that airlines require, backed by best-in-class technology and the deep expertise that our teams bring to market.”

At closing, Sabre will purchase Farelogix for approximately $360 million, funded by cash on hand and revolver borrowing. Subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, the acquisition is expected to close in late 2018 or early 2019.

“For the past few years, Farelogix and Sabre have worked together with shared customers to implement our complementary technologies to solve some of the industry’s toughest challenges,” said Jim Davidson, CEO of Farelogix, calling the agreement a “natural evolution” of the collaboration.

Davidson adds: “Sabre shares our vision for innovation and has the leading technology, resources, and global presence to help us scale our solutions and grow our customer base.”

The agreement to acquire Farelogix marks the next step in Sabre’s effort to become the preferred platform at the centre of the business of travel. Sabre recently launched its digital commercial airline platform with several carriers and through its Beyond NDC programme, is partnering with airlines and travel agencies to drive the travel industry forward through the design, development, integration and testing of end-to-end capabilities to process NDC-enabled offers and orders. The company suggests the acquisition and integration of Farelogix technology will help it accelerate these innovation efforts.

Farelogix expects full year 2018 revenue of approximately $40 million. The acquisition is expected to be neutral to Sabre’s 2019 Adjusted EPS.

Until closing, Sabre and Farelogix will continue to operate as separate business with no immediate changes to daily operations.