Priceline to buy Cheapflights’ parent
The Priceline Group has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cheapflights’ parent Momondo Group.
Under the deal, Priceline will acquire all outstanding shares of the company for $550 million.
Cheapflights and European travel meta search engine momondo will come under Priceline’s KAYAK brand.
“Metasearch is appealing to consumers and we’re keen to expand our global footprint,” said Glenn Fogel, CEO of The Priceline Group.
“Momondo and Cheapflights will be nice additions to our meta portfolio under KAYAK.”
KAYAK CEO Steve Hafner added: “Momondo and Cheapflights have built great products serving loyal users across Europe. We’re looking forward to learning from them and sharing best practices as our brands expand globally.”
The deal is expected to close later in the year, subject to regulatory approval.
Headquartered in the UK and Copenhagen, and with offices in Boston, the Momondo Group is currently part of Great Hill Partners.
Priceline’s existing brands include Booking.com, priceline.com, KAYAK, agoda.com, Rentalcars.com, and OpenTable.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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