Expedia is buying online travel company Travelocity for $280 million in cash, an expected move that will help bolster the Bellevue-based assets as it continues to battle Priceline Group.
Expedia confirmed the acquisition today in a SEC filing, following reports of a deal last week.
“Travelocity is one of the most recognized travel brands in North America, offering thousands of travel destinations to more than 20 million travelers per month,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, Expedia, Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer. “The strategic marketing agreement we’ve had in place has been a marriage of Travelocity’s strong brand with our best-in-class booking platform, supply base, and customer service. Evolving this relationship strengthens the Expedia Inc. family’s ability to continue to innovate and deliver the very best travel experiences to the widest set of travelers, all over the world.”
Expedia is buying Travelocity from parent company Sabre Holdings. The deal comes just over two years after rival Priceline gobbled up travel search company Kayak.
The news comes almost a year and a half after Expedia initially agreed to provide all of the back-end technology for Travelocity’s services in the U.S. in exchange for half of its revenue.
Shares of Expedia are up 29 percent over the past year. The company, which plans to release 2014 results on Feb. 5, is now valued at $10.8 billion.
