Priceline negotiates Kayak buy
Priceline, the world’s largest online travel agency by sales, is getting even bigger.
The company is buying Kayak for $1.8 billion dollars in cash and stock. Kayak’s current management team will continue to manage Kayak operations independently as part of the Priceline Group of companies
Kayak is a leading travel research site that lets users compare hundreds of travel sites at the same time when searching for flights, hotels, and rental cars.. The company processes over 100 million user queries each month through its global websites and mobile applications.
"Kayak has built a strong brand in online travel research and their track record of profitable growth is demonstrative of their popularity with consumers and value to advertisers," said Priceline CEO Jeffrey Boyd. "Kayak also has world class technology and a tradition of innovation in building great user interfaces across multiple platforms and devices. We believe we can be helpful with Kayak’s plans to build a global online travel brand."
Experts say that Priceline’s growth, largely in markets outside the US, will be boosted domestically by the Kayak acquisition.
The deal is expected to close by late first quarter, 2013 and must first be approved by shareholders and regulators.
Priceline’s "Negotiator" commercials with William Shatner are widely seen as a major factor in the company’s turnaround from the dot.com meltdown into a company whose market capitalization is $31.65 billion, according to thestreet.com‘s November 6th Stock Buy Recommendation. Earlier this year Priceline brought Shatner back to life after a previous commerical ostensibly killed off the popular "Negotiator" character.
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