Expedia acquires HomeAway for US$3.9bn
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Expedia has entered into an agreement to acquire HomeAway Inc, the US-based vacation rental company.
The deal, which includes all of HomeAway’s brands, will be worth approximately US$3.9 billion in cash and Expedia stock, valuing HomeAway’s shares at US$38.31. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016.
“We have long had our eyes on the fast growing US$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,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Expedia.
“We have tremendous respect for the HomeAway team and the business they have built… [and] 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 traveller audience and the owners and managers of its 1.2 million properties around the world.”
Brian Sharples, CEO of HomeAway, said he “could not be more excited” about joining Expedia.
“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 travellers. In this way, I believe our combination with Expedia will turbocharge our growth and industry leadership for many years to come,” Sharples said.
This marks the latest in a series of major acquisitions for Expedia, which has also snapped up Travelocity and Wotif.com in recent years.
It will also give Expedia a significant foothold in the growing Asian vacation rental sector. HomeAway recently completed its own acquisition of Travelmob, the Singapore-based vacation rental site, and launched new localised HomeAway sites across the Asia Pacific region.
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