Tuesday, July 29, 2008

AMEX Pays $251M for 13 Percent Stake in Concur

International global finances firm the American Express Co. has acquired a 13-percent stake in Concur Technologies Inc., Concur announced Tuesday. The Redmond, Wash.-based provider of employee spend management automation software said AMEX paid $251 million in cash for 6.4 million shares of newly issued common stock. As part of the deal, Concur added, AMEX has the right to purchase an additional 1.28 million shares of Concur common stock at any time during the next two years at the same price of $39.27 per share. In a related move, Concur appointed AMEX Vice Chairman Ed Gilligan to its board of directors. Gilligan is responsible for American Express' global business-to-business group, which includes the company's Global Business Travel, Global Commercial Card, Global Merchant Services and Global Network Services businesses. Concur also reported that two of its directors, Robert T. Abele and co-founder Michael Hilton, will step down, effective today. Abele had served on the board since 2006, and Hilton had been with the company since 1993.