Galileo International Completes Acquisition of Leading Travel Technology and Services Company, Highwire, Inc.

Galileo International, a leading provider of electronic global distribution services for the travel industry and a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation (NYSE: CD), today announced it has completed its acquisition of Highwire, Inc., a leading developer of corporate Internet travel tools and technology.

The acquisition of Highwire includes the Travelport™ product suite, a scalable, fast and reliable travel management solution that includes a next-generation online reservation booking engine built on an XML standard platform, a best of breed customizable portal solution fully integrated into booking engine functionality, and a comprehensive data information and reporting system. Highwire’s more than 75 customers include Microsoft and Deloitte & Touche.

“Highwire is a great addition to the Galileo family. Bringing Highwire’s talented management team, its impressive customer base and its innovative technology, such as the travel portal, to Galileo unleashes a wealth of opportunities for our company and our customers,” said Mark Miller, president and CEO of Galileo. “With the recent downturn in the travel industry and pressure on the bottom line, companies are increasingly looking for cost effective tools that can also deliver up-to-date travel information from a variety of sources. With Highwire, we’re well positioned to meet those needs with this best in class solution.”

Unique to the industry, Highwire's Internet based suite of applications integrates an industry-leading portal with a next generation booking engine. The combination permits corporate and travel agency customers to exchange information between travelers and suppliers at the time of booking. Travelport's functionality enables travel agencies, suppliers, and corporations the ability to efficiently communicate critical time sensitive travel information.

“Highwire's tool set allows us to expediently deliver information to all our corporations utilizing Travelport. With the events of Sept. 11, this was a vital tool in ensuring we could keep our customers informed of new security measures and requirements for travel,” remarked Terry Brady, CEO of Metropolitan Travel, whose many customers include Nordstrom, Onxy Software and Amazon.com.

Marka Jenkins, CEO, and Ken Warman, President, will stay on with Highwire and their office will remain in Seattle, Wash.

“Highwire is excited about the opportunities and resources becoming a member of the Galileo family and the larger Cendant family will provide,” said Marka Jenkins, Highwire CEO.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.