Silver Lake Partners and Texas Pacific Group purchase of Sabre presents some interesting possibilities. Perhaps, the most compelling to current employees is that all stock options become immediately vested – for some, that means that the long term carrot to keep employees has suddenly become the short term ‘retire @ 55’ possibility. There are a few former colleagues that I’m truly happy for. Retirement is wonderful.
For those not in that category, Sabre returning to a private company means not having to hit Wall Streets quarterly numbers. There’s a lot Sabre can now due with advanced technology and I’ve been reminded that the money they’ll save not having to deal with Sarbanes-Oxley will be huge.
This deal, if it goes thorough, will close sometime after Q1/07 and a lot can happen between now and then. But, the buyers have displayed technical savvy so look for technical improvements, not only to current business processes but also to the infrastructure.
Sabre’s been forthright in keeping employees informed about what’s going on. It looks like the current management team will stay and that’s a good thing – good communication has negated the productivity hit you’d expect with an announcement such as this.
Still, $4.75 Billion is a lot of money and the new owners will certainly look to re-coup their investment ASAP. That means lots of scrutiny for the three business units – Sabre Airline Solutions, Sabre Travel Network, and Travelocity.
Time will tell which business unit will be first to be jettisoned; my guess – Travelocity. Look for more announcements on how Sabre will embrace technology and leverage the possibilities for competitive advantage.
