Skift Take
After buying Freebird and onboarding Hopper as its travel platform for credit card members, Capital One is developing a considerable travel portfolio with this latest acquisition.
Matthew Parsons
Corporate travel reserving and expense app Lola has shut down, with banking company Capital One getting the majority of its employees and software application, according to regional media.
The winding down follows Lola’s split from American Express Global Business Travel last month, at which point the startup stated it was making way for “new things coming quickly.”
All of its corporate contracts have been ended, and refunds have been issued, the report included.
Lola did not react to Skift’s ask for remark.
Co-founders Paul English and Mike Volpe, plus more than 50 other staff, will move to Capital One’s McLean, Virginia-based office in the U.S. and work in the bank’s fintech division.
With the freshly hired Lola team, Capital One gains a lot more take a trip innovation proficiency, following its acquisition of Freebird, a platform that lets representatives sell smarter flight insurance coverage and rebooking services, in August in 2015.
Capital One also led a fundraising round worth $170 million in August this year for online travel agency Hopper, which now powers Capital One Travel, the booking platform used by its cardholders.
The Boston World reported that Capital One completed the acquisition of Lola from its investors, a group that included equity capital firms General Catalyst and Accel, in addition to English and Volpe, on Thursday.
General Catalyst was also a financier in Freebird, while other travel interests consist of Airbnb, Hopin and Sabre, according to its website.