Expedia to Deliver Early Payday to Private Equity Investors
Photo Credit: Expedia Group is looking to refinance $3.2 billion in private equity debt at a lower interest rate. Getty Images
Skift Take
It's no accident that Expedia Group disclosed improved booking trends on Monday, and then announced a senior notes offering to refinance the company's private equity debt a day later. Hey, whether you are a homeowner or a giant online travel company, a good refinancing deal can be smart and hard to resist.
Private equity firms Apollo Global Management and Silver Lake Partners rode to Expedia Group's liquidity rescue in April with a deal to provide $3.2 billion in financing. As its bookings rebounded somewhat, Expedia was looking Tuesday to pay off these firms early, and refinance the debt at a significantly lower interest rate.
That's why Expedia Group announced Tuesday morning that it began a private offering of senior notes that it could use to redeem the 9.5 percent Series A preferred stock that it issued to Apollo and Silver Lake when the deal closed May 5. Expedia did not name the two private equity firms in Tuesday's announcement, but Apollo and Silver Lake are the only two corporate holders of what was newly created Series A preferre
