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Expedia owner buys Hotwire for $665m
InterActiveCorp, which owns Expedia.com and Hotels.com, is to buy Hotwire.com.
InterActiveCorp will pay $665 million in cash plus around $20 million in options and warrants. It says that Hotwire will accumulate about $700 million in gross bookings during 2003.
According to comScore Networks, the acquisition means InterActiveCorp will have control of three of the top ten most visited travel websites in the US.
Hotwire was founded in 2000 by a number of US airlines – American, American West, Continental, Northwest, United and US Airways, as well as the Texas Pacific Group. The website sells “opaque travel”, whereby the consumer searches and selects a specific rate without knowing who the supplier is until after the item is purchased.
Hotwire will be incorporated into IAC Travel, the travel division of InterActiveCorp. It includes Expedia.com, Expedia Corporate Travel, Classic Custom Vacations, Newtrade Technologies, Hotels.com, and its affiliated brands – Travelnow.com, Interval International, and TV Travel Shop. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the year, but is still subject to regulatory approval.
InterActiveCorp chairman and chief executive, Barry Diller said: “It is not so long ago that these online travel services didn’t exist – it ought to be now clear to all that they will stand the test of time and play an increasingly important role in every aspect of the travel experience.”
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