American Express said it plans to acquire TheFork, the Paris-based restaurant technology company that sells online booking and management tools and serves more than 50,000 clients across 11 European countries. The move would fold a European platform founded in 2007 into a dining business American Express has already been building through Resy and Tock.
Rafa Marquez said dining is one of the most important ways people engage with the brand, and he said the proposed acquisition would help American Express enrich its Membership Model by giving Card Members more ways to discover, book and access great restaurants while helping partners reach more diners and grow their businesses. That framing puts the deal squarely inside a broader push to make dining part of the value of holding the card, not just a side benefit.
The timing matters because American Express is leaning harder on premium experiences to support its high-end customer base, and TheFork would widen that effort in Europe. William Blair analysts said TheFork's European presence extends the Resy playbook to American Express's expansion efforts in Europe, a sign the company sees restaurant technology as part of its international growth plan rather than a one-off purchase. American Express has also said it is increasing spending on marketing and technology and recently reaffirmed full-year 2026 guidance for 9% to 10% revenue growth and EPS of $17.30 to $17.90.
But the deal is still only a proposal. American Express said it must clear labor consultation and regulatory approvals before closing, and it hopes the acquisition will be completed in 2026. TheFork would continue to operate under its existing leadership team after the close, suggesting American Express wants the platform's current structure intact as it absorbs a business that is already owned by Tripadvisor and already reaches diners across much of Europe.
For American Express, the open question is not whether dining matters. It is how quickly the company can turn a proposed European purchase into a working part of its restaurant network without losing the momentum that made TheFork valuable in the first place.
