B2B car rental technology platform CarTrawler has acquired the Paris-based insurtech business Koala, increasing its range of travel ancillary products.
Koala's platform powers high-conversion insurance products such as 'cancel for any reason', trip disruption cover and more traditional travel insurance products across a network of more than 70 partners in 17 countries.
The acquisition marks CarTrawler's strategic entry into the insurtech vertical and further expands its multi-product ancillary platform.
CarTrawler reported revenues of €172m and EBITDA of €23.3m, up two per cent year-on-year, in its last full financial year after seeing a 14 per cent increase in car booking volumes.
The company directed €8m into R&D to develop its proprietary Connect Platform and expand its artificial intelligence and data science capabilities.
EBITDA has increased over 20 per cent in the nine months to the end of June 2025, reflecting an acceleration in business momentum, a stable car rental pricing environment and new partnerships with the likes of American Airlines, Qantas, Jet2, Virgin Australia, and Finnair.
“FY24 was a year of continued progress for CarTrawler. We delivered strong results, with further EBITDA growth to €23.305m, and a 14% increase in car booking volumes," said Peter O'Donovan, chief executive of CarTrawler.
"In the period, we were delighted to welcome some of the leading brands in travel to our platform, as we convert a robust new partnership pipeline. FY25 is on track to deliver record levels for our business, with further growth secured for 2026 and beyond through a number of significant additional new partnerships."
“The demand for B2B travel ancillary solutions continues to increase, with our travel partners asking us to add these solutions to our offering. The acquisition of Koala is a further step toward fulfilling our ambition of becoming the leading multi-product ancillary platform for the global travel industry.
"Koala’s product innovation and customer-centric approach makes them a natural fit. Together, we’ll unlock more value for travel partners and travellers alike.”
Photo: Peter O'Donovan. (Pic: Supplied)
