
After Sabre's $1.1 Billion Hotel Tech Sale: CEO Explains What's Next
Sabre will be slimmed down and more focused after the sale of its hotel tech unit to TPG for $1.1 billion. About 1,000 employees are moving along with it, Sabre CEO Kurt Ekert told Skift.
That business 'will largely move intact,' he said. That includes Scott Wilson, president of Sabre Hospitality, and the other executives, and brings Sabre's workforce to about 5,500.
Ekert had put a lot of effort into building the hotel tech unit since he started as CEO in 2023. But Sabre had over $5 billion in debt, and reducing that level has been one of Ekert's top goals. Most of the sale proceeds – about $960 million after taxes and fees – will go toward debt reduction.
'On one hand, this business has tremend

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Big Tech may be breaking the bank for AI, but investors love it
By Aditya Soni and Deborah Mary Sophia (Reuters) -Big Tech is spending more than ever on artificial intelligence - but the returns are rising too, and investors are buying in. AI played a bigger role in driving demand across internet search, digital advertising and cloud computing in the April-June quarter, powering revenue growth at technology giants Microsoft, Meta, and Alphabet. Betting that momentum will sustain, Microsoft and Alphabet decided to ramp up spending to ease capacity shortages that have limited their ability to meet soaring AI services demand, even after several quarters of multi-billion-dollar outlays. The results offer the clearest sign yet that AI is emerging as a primary growth engine, although the monetization journey is still in its early days, investors and analysts said. The upbeat commentary also bodes well for the largest U.S. cloud provider, which will report earnings on Thursday after markets close, and underscores how surging demand for the new technology is shielding the tech giants from tariff-driven economic uncertainty hobbling other sectors. "As companies like Alphabet and Meta race to deliver on the promise of AI, capital expenditures are shockingly high and will remain elevated for the foreseeable future," said Debra Aho Williamson, founder and chief analyst at Sonata Insights. But if their core businesses remain strong, "it will buy them more time with investors and provide confidence that the billions being spent on infrastructure, talent and other tech-related expenses will be worthwhile," she added. Microsoft shares rose about 9% in premarket trading on Thursday, putting the Windows maker on track to cross $4 trillion in market value - a milestone only chip giant Nvidia has reached so far. Meta was up even more, rising 11.5% and on course to add nearly $200 billion to its market value of $1.75 trillion. Amazon gained over 3%. All the companies have faced intense scrutiny from investors over their ballooning capital expenditures, which were expected to total $330 billion this year before the latest earnings. And until a few days ago, the Magnificent Seven stocks were also trailing the S&P 500 in year-to-date performance. SILENCING DOUBTS Microsoft said on Wednesday it would spend a record $30 billion in the current quarter, after better-than-expected sales and an above-estimate forecast for its Azure cloud computing business showcased the growing returns on its massive AI bets. The prediction puts Microsoft on track to potentially outspend its rivals over the next year. It came after Google-parent Alphabet beat revenue expectations and raised its spending forecast by $10 billion to $85 billion for the year. Microsoft also disclosed for the first time the dollar figure for Azure sales and the number of users for its Copilot AI tools, whose adoption has long been a concern for investors. It said Azure generated more than $75 billion in sales in its last fiscal year, while Copilot tools had over 100 million users. Overall, around 800 million customers use AI tools peppered across Microsoft's sprawling software empire. "It's the kind of result that quickly silences any doubts about cloud or AI demand," said Josh Gilbert, market analyst at eToro. "Microsoft is more than justifying its spending." Other AI companies have also attracted a clutch of users. Alphabet said last week its Gemini AI assistant app has more than 450 million monthly active users. OpenAI's ChatGPT, the application credited with kicking off the generative AI frenzy, has around 500 million weekly active users. Meta, meanwhile, raised the bottom end of its annual capital expenditure forecast by $2 billion, to a range of between $66 billion and $72 billion. It also said that costs driven by its efforts to catch up in Silicon Valley's intensifying AI race would push 2026 expense growth rate above 2025's pace. Better-than-expected sales growth in the April-June period and an above-estimate revenue forecast for the current quarter, however, assured investors that strength in the social media giant's core advertising business can support the massive outlays. "The big boys are back," said Brian Mulberry, portfolio manager at Zacks Investment Management, which holds shares in all three major U.S. cloud providers. "This simply proves the Magnificent Seven is still magnificent at this moment in time." Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Arm sinks as chip ambitions, muted forecast shake investor confidence
(Corrects to add company identifier) (Reuters) -Arm Holdings shares fell 7% in premarket trading on Thursday as the chip tech provider's plan to invest in its own chip development, which would bite into future profits, disappointed investors. Arm's decision to ramp up investment in chip creation marks a significant pivot from its legacy business model of licensing intellectual property to tech heavyweights like Nvidia and companies that already design their own chips. Potential conflicts of interest could arise as Arm's chip strategy positions it to compete with its own customers, said analysts at J.P. Morgan led by Harlan Sur. "The (Arm) team remains focused on system-level, software, and AI initiatives. However, we are increasingly concerned with its strategy to develop full chip solutions," Sur said. Arm forecast fiscal second-quarter profit slightly below Wall Street estimates, as escalating global trade tensions threaten demand in its core smartphone market, disappointing investors who had driven the stock sharply higher in recent months. Arm has jumped 150% since its stock market debut in 2023, and has risen 32.4% so far this year, compared with gains of about 34% for Nvidia and 49% for AMD. The shares trade at over 80 times the earnings estimates, much higher than rivals Nvidia's 34.91 and AMD's 35.33. Arm's subdued forecast highlights the uncertainty facing global manufacturers and supply chains amid ongoing U.S. trade tensions. At least two brokerages raised their price targets on the stock, bringing the median to $155, according to data compiled by LSEG. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Unexpected Wedding Costs Leaves Bridesmaid Frustrated After Paying for Dress, Bridal Shower and Bachelorette
The cost of a woman's wedding is piling up, and one bridesmaid has had enoughNEED TO KNOW A bridesmaid is struggling with the mounting costs of her friend's wedding After promising to pay the tip for hair and makeup professionals (the bridesmaids covered the actual cost), the bride went back on her word and told the bridal party they'd be responsible for the tip The bridesmaids already contributed to the bachelorette party, bridal shower and their own dresses for the ceremonyThe cost of a wedding is piling up — not just for the bride, but for the wedding party as well. A bridesmaid — who had already donated to the wedding couple's celebrations — shared her frustration on Reddit's r/weddingdrama forum after the bride insisted her wedding party cover the tips for the makeup artist and hair stylist. The bride had previously told her bridesmaids she'd take care of it — and now she's backing out. The wedding is in just a few days, the bridesmaid wrote. The bride had indulged in the usual pre-nuptial celebrations, including a bachelorette party and a bridal shower, both of which her bridesmaids were expected to fund, the woman wrote. On top of that, the bridesmaids paid for their own dresses for the ceremony. Months prior, the bride communicated to the bridesmaids that she'd handle the tips for the professionals doing hair and makeup, "as we are paying for that on our own," the woman wrote. But it appears the bride has gone back on her word. "Recently [the bride] sent a message that I found a tad rude, saying that we have to handle the tip now because she's handling the traveling fee. 'I'm paying the traveling fee so I figured everyone else can tip,'" the woman recalled of the bride's message. The post continued, "The wording threw me off as I figured you should because it is your wedding and you told us months prior you would cover it." The general consensus in the comments determined the bride was wrong for asking so much of her bridesmaids, in terms of finances. Hair and makeup are both temporary, and only the wedding couple's photos stand to benefit. Thus, many argued, that expense in particular should fall to the bride. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Many suggested the woman should just tip, so as not to make the makeup artist and hair stylist suffer because of the bride's rudeness. Furthermore, just days out from the wedding, commenters noted the drama of pushing back about costs is unlikely to end well for anyone involved. "I mean, you can bring up that she's going back on the plan but also pragmatically... the wedding is in days," one wrote. "It's irritating and annoying and I get that this is the straw, but the time to speak up about costs piling up was sometime well before this weekend." Read the original article on People Solve the daily Crossword