Will Travelport IPO reappear in New York?

If European-U.S. rivalries played a role in Travelport withdrawing its IPO in London, some in the U.S. investment community believe Travelport may be thinking about resurrecting its public offering in New York.

Worries about the Greek economy and other market conditions assuredly were key factors in Travelport’s inability to price its ill-fated IPO, but some insiders believe that U.S.-European rivalries — the feeling that Travelport was an “interloper” when measured against Madrid-favorite Amadeus, and cool feelings toward private equity in general and Travelport owner Blackstone, in particular — provided a subtext.

“There was a rush to see which IPO, Travelport’s or Amadeus’, would get out of the starting gate first,” says one investment guy in the U.S. “Some European investors feel much more warm and fuzzy about Amadeus.”

In its roadshow in Europe, Travelport apparently touted its ability to steal clients from Amadeus, such as it recently did with Thomas Cook, but Travelport could find a more sympathetic ear stateside from investors, goes the thinking.

On the other hand, U.S. investors generally don’t do cartwheels when they get a chance to pluck down money for a GDS, which is often viewed as a business with many challenges, including those pesky airline contracts and saturation in some mature markets.

And, arguing against a U.S. IPO perhaps, Travelport has done much to set up shop in Europe over the last couple of years, moving a bunch of its operations over there.

Still, the U.S.-based investment official says he’d be “surpised if Travelport doesn’t come back to New York with an IPO this year.”

However, perhaps Amadeus will get out of the starting gate first.