Expedia to buy majority stake in European metasearch Trivago for $632 million
Photo Credit: Trivago's hotel search site claims to present offers from 620,000 hotels. Trivago
Skift Take
This is a great move by Expedia as Trivago is a leader across a wide swath of European countries, and this could make Kayak's quest for European expansion a bit more difficult.
It didn't take Expedia long to answer Priceline's pending acquisition of Kayak as Expedia agreed to take a majority stake in leading German travel metasearch site Trivago in a cash and stock deal worth $632 million.
Founded in 2005, Dusseldorf, Germany-based Trivago has a strong presence in hotel metasearch in Germany, Spain, the UK, Italy and France, and has recently entered the U.S. market.
Expedia has signed a definitive agreement to take a 62 % stake in Trivago, which expects to take in $132 million in net revenue in 2012.
Under the terms of the agreement, as outlined in an SEC filing, three members of Trivago's management will retain 36% of the outstanding shares, and two other employees will keep 2% of the outstanding securities after the acquisition closes.
Expedia agrees to pay $426.4 million in cash, and make five payments of Expedia common stock, valued at $42.6 million, on the anniversary of the acquisition over five years. Trivago will also issue new shares,
