Expedia had been building its relationship with HomeAway for two years as it kept an eye on the “alternative accommodations” space.
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(NASDAQ:EXPE) has agreed to acquire HomeAway®, including all of its brands, for an equity value of approximately $3.9 billion in cash and Expedia common stock, representing a per share price for HomeAway shares of $38.31, based on Expedia’s closing price on November 3, 2015. The transaction will likely close in the first quarter of 2016.
Go here to read the full release on HomeAway’s website.
It is the second biggest deal in travel tech in this decade, but it still a fair distance behind the $8.2 billion that SAP paid to buy Concur in September 2014.
“I don’t think that we’ve hit on a magic bullet at this point”, Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told investors during a quarterly earnings call in August. That is about 18% more than the price of HomeAway shares at the close of trading Wednesday.
HomeAway lets users arrange vacation rentals at 1.2 million properties around the globe.
“We’re eager to benefit from Expedia’s distribution, technology and expertise”, Mr Sharples said.
Despite Khosrowshahi telling analysts on last week’s Q3 earnings call that Airbnb has had an “immaterial” effect on business, the move comes as alternative lodgings continue to gain popularity with vacationers open to renting private homes and apartments instead of traditional hotel rooms.
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The company’s mantra has been how all of its inventory is bookable online, rather than the existing process for many properties of requesting availability.
