M&E spend management specialist Naboo has acquired its UK rival pro-ven, founded in 2005. The deal gives the French company a UK headquarters that will operate under the Naboo UK brand. Naboo said this is its first acquisition. All pro-ven employees and client relationships will be retained.
Naboo plans to roll out its AI-based operating system to the UK teams. The system automates sourcing, analyses contractual terms and centralises invoicing and payments.
For pro-ven’s client portfolio, joining forces with an international operator opens new opportunities.
“With Naboo, we are now able to meet our clients’ needs for global coverage with the same quality, anywhere in the world,” said Julian Laxon, founder and managing director of pro-ven.
“This is clearly the direction booking teams and procurement leads are taking: one single vendor of record, anywhere in the world, to cover all the complex elements of venue find, event management and payments.”
Following the deal, the French company estimates it will manage US$300 million (about €268m) of meetings and events a year. It says it can position itself among the largest players in M&E spend and venue sourcing.
“The future category leader in M&E spend management will be a pure player,” said Maxime Eduardo, co-founder and chief executive of Naboo.
“Both event planners and procurement leaders have very high expectations for user experience, embedded compliance, payment simplification, spend analytics and transparency. That level cannot be reached as a side business by travel management companies that remain focused on transforming the transient travel experience. That is the leader we are building with pro-ven.”
Naboo now claims a global presence with eight offices: New York, Montreal, Paris, Hamburg, Barcelona, Singapore, Shanghai and now London.
