Pegasus Corners Hotel Switch Services With Wizcom Buy

Pegasus Solutions has acquired Travelport subsidiary Wizcom Inc., making Pegasus the sole provider of switch services in hotel distribution, the companies announced today.

The deal, of which financial terms were not disclosed, gives Dallas-based Pegasus a chance to integrate the products and business of its competitor in providing global distribution system switch services, which are an alternative to direct supplier connections. Wizcom's products include GDS-related products, connectivity to Internet distribution systems and data management tools.

Both switches came on the market about the same time in the late 1980s, and the acquisition gives Pegasus a good market position, Pegasus CEO John Davis said.
"Hotel companies had three choices: going direct, Pegasus and Wizcom," Davis said. "They still have the alternative of going direct, but at the end, this will reduce the cost and make it simple for the hotels."

Ken Esterow, president and CEO of Gullivers Travel Associates by Travelport, said in a prepared statement that Travelport had explored several options for Wizcom and ultimately decided it was best to join Pegasus, for which switch services is the primary business. Travelport, which also operates the Galileo GDS, recently spun off into a privately owned company from parent company Cendant Corp.