JPMorgan Chase to acquire key business of CxLoyalty
STAMFORD — CxLoyalty Group Holdings, one of the nation’s largest third-party providers of credit card loyalty and engagement programs, has agreed to sell its global loyalty division to banking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co., a deal that reflects the buyer’s confidence that customers will want to travel again when the coronavirus pandemic abates.
The deal encompasses Stamford-based cxLoyalty’s technology platforms, travel agency, gift card, merchandise and points-bank businesses, and the loyalty unit will become a new business within JPMorgan Chase, according to an announcement issued this week. About half of cxLoyalty’s 3,100 employees will move to JPMorgan Chase as a result of the transaction.
Financial terms were not disclosed. The transaction was expected to be completed in the “coming days,” cxLoyalty said. CxLoyalty’s global customer engagement division and other ongoing businesses were not included in the deal.
“This investment demonstrates our commitment to deliver exceptional travel benefits at-scale to our large and rapidly growing customer base,” Marianne Lake, JPMorgan Chase’s CEO of consumer lending, said in a statement. “People across the globe want to vacation and travel again, and hopefully that will become a reality for many in the near future. Acquiring the travel and rewards businesses of cxLoyalty will provide enhanced experiences to our millions of Chase customers once they are ready, comfortable and confident to travel.”
Todd Siegel, CEO of cxLoyalty since 2013, will become the head of the new loyalty business within JPMorgan Chase. The loyalty division’s clients include Capital One, Citibank, MasterCard and U.S. Bancorp.
“We are pleased to announce this compelling transaction,
which provides significant benefits for our clients, customers, employees and other stakeholders,” Siegel said in a statement. “We have built two strong, distinct businesses, and we look forward to enhancing their focus on their unique strategic priorities and market opportunities.”
The global customer engagement division plans to use sale proceeds to “meaningfully strengthen its balance sheet, enabling further investment in customer and content intelligence to deliver differentiated personalized solutions,” CxLoyalty said.
Greg Miller, CxLoyalty’s chief financial officer and chief operating officer, will lead global customer engagement. Miller has more than 18 years of experience with CxLoyalty, with responsibility for all financial and operational functions, as well as corporate strategy and capital allocation for new business initiatives.
“With the sale, the company will accelerate its focus on driving engagement, advocacy and growth through user and content intelligence, and platform analytics,” Miller said in a statement. “In addition, the company will have a stronger balance sheet to invest in its data intelligence growth initiatives."
CxLoyalty works with about 3,000 clients and marketing partners that serve about 70 million customers, according to its website.
The company was formerly known as Affinion Group before rebranding last year to CxLoyalty. Its main offices are in the High Ridge Park complex, which is located just off the Merritt Parkway’s Exit 35.