American Express will buy TheFork, the restaurant reservation and management platform owned by Tripadvisor, in a cash transaction valued at $700 million, the companies said on Monday. The announcement sent Tripadvisor shares sharply higher in premarket trading.
TheFork, which Tripadvisor says connects millions of diners with more than 50,000 restaurants across 11 European countries, generated $232 million in revenue for the year ended March 31, representing a 25% increase from the prior year, according to Tripadvisor’s earnings report. American Express characterized the acquisition as a way to scale its dining capabilities, growing the company’s bookable-dining inventory to roughly 75,000 venues and reinforcing its international business - a segment that the card issuer described as its fastest-growing for many years.
Executives framed the deal as a continuation of American Express’s strategy to build a broader dining ecosystem. TheFork’s platform offers restaurant management, reservation and customer engagement tools; the purchase follows American Express’s earlier acquisitions of Resy and Tock. Rafa Marquez, president of international card services at American Express, said dining is a central channel through which customers engage with the brand.
Tripadvisor’s move to sell TheFork came after activist investor Starboard Value advocated for a sale in October of last year, as Tripadvisor worked to recover from pandemic-related disruptions and faced stiff competition from rivals named by the company, including Booking Holdings and Airbnb. The divestiture was presented as a response to that shareholder pressure and Tripadvisor’s broader effort to streamline operations.
The companies said the transaction is expected to close before the end of 2026 and that TheFork will continue to operate under its current leadership team following the sale. Goldman Sachs served as financial adviser to Tripadvisor and TheFork on the deal.
Market reaction to the announcement was immediate: shares of the online travel platform rose sharply in premarket trading. The purchase positions American Express to further scale its dining offerings internationally while integrating TheFork’s technology and restaurant relationships into its existing portfolio.
Context and implications
- This acquisition adds to American Express’s dining stack alongside Resy and Tock, increasing bookable venues to 75,000.
- TheFork reported $232 million in revenue for the year ended March 31, a 25% year-over-year increase, per Tripadvisor’s earnings report.
- Tripadvisor’s decision follows pressure from activist investor Starboard Value and competitive challenges post-pandemic.