Expedia buys Orbitz for $1.3 billion
Last month, Expedia bought rival Travelocity for $280 million. The New York Times reported today that Expedia agreed on Thursday to buy Orbitz Worldwide for about $1.3 billion in cash, striking its second acquisition of a fellow online travel company in as many months. Under the terms of the deal, Expedia will pay $12 a share, 24 percent higher than Orbitz‘s closing price on Wednesday.
With the Orbitz transaction, Expedia will gain not only Orbitz and its business-focused travel sites, but also CheapTickets and HotelClub. “We are attracted to the Orbitz Worldwide business because of its strong brands and impressive team,” Dara Khosrowshahi, Expedia’s chief executive, said in a statement. “The Orbitz Worldwide team has built a devoted customer base and we look forward to welcoming them to the Expedia, Inc. family.”
Bloomberg Business reported that the deal is set to push Expedia into the lead against Priceline in global travel bookings. Expedia’s total bookings totaled $50.4 billion last year, while Orbitz had $12.4 billion. While Priceline hasn’t reported full-year gross bookings, it had $39.6 billion in bookings in the first nine months of 2014 compared with Expedia’s $39.1 billion.
Article from nytimes.com and bloomberg.com
Image from usatoday.com
Thumbnail from shutterstock.com
[image error]
