Expedia has agreed to purchase Travelocity, which has been merely a skin for Expedia for a while, for $280 million from Sabre.
Expedia already owns number of brands such as Hotwire, Hotels.com, eLong and number of others.
Here’s the press release from Expedia:
BELLEVUE, Washington and SOUTHLAKE, Texas — Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) and Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ: SABR) today announced that Expedia, Inc. has acquired Travelocity from Sabre Corporation for $280 million in cash. The acquisition follows the 2013 strategic marketing agreement between Expedia, Inc. and Travelocity under which Expedia has powered the technology platforms for Travelocity’s US and Canadian websites along with providing Travelocity access to Expedia, Inc.’s supply and customer service program.
“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.”
“Our primary focus at Sabre is to provide mission-critical software solutions to our global airline, hospitality, and travel agency customers – and to help them support their customers every day,” said Tom Klein, Sabre President and Chief Executive Officer. “We have had a long and fruitful partnership with Expedia, most recently by partnering to strengthen the Travelocity business, so our decision to divest Travelocity is a logical next step for us both.”
Conclusion
Orbitz is up for sale and Expedia just snagged Travelocity for merely $280 million. I really cannot remember the last time I used Travelocity, although they have had some nice coupons for mobile hotel bookings as of late.
I just hope that not all these travel brands would ended up being bought by Expedia. Competition is always king.