Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) is buying leading vacation rental marketplace HomeAway (NASDAQ:AWAY) for $3.9B in cash and stock, or $38.31/share based on Expedia’s Tuesday close.
Expedia will pay $10.15/share in cash and issue 0.2065 shares for each HomeAway share. The deal is expected to close in Q1 2016.
Expedia Acquisition
Brian Sharples, HomeAway CEO: “Separately, we’re thrilled to announce our agreement to join the Expedia family of leading travel brands and couldn’t be more excited about what this move means for our very bright future. We’re eager to benefit from Expedia’s distribution, technology and expertise, which will allow us to provide an even better product and service experience for our owners, property managers and travelers. In this way, I believe our combination with Expedia will turbocharge our growth and industry leadership for many years to come.”
Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO, Expedia: “We have long had our eyes on the fast growing ~$100 billion alternative accommodations space and have been building on our partnership with HomeAway, a global leader in vacation rentals, for two years. Bringing HomeAway into the Expedia, Inc. family and adding its leading brands to our portfolio of the most trusted brands in travel is a logical next step. We have tremendous respect for the HomeAway team and the business they have built. With our expertise in powering global transactional platforms and our industry-leading technology capabilities, we look forward to partnering with them to accelerate their shift from a classified marketplace to an online, transactional model to create even better experiences for HomeAway’s global traveler audience and the owners and managers of its 1.2 million properties around the world.”
WoW.. Only a matter of time before this predictable venture would happen. My only question to all the owners and more impact-fully property managers is: Do you know where your database of past guest’s visitors will be tomorrow?? Go luck!