Priceline Group has agreed to invest a further $250m in China’s largest online travel agency Ctrip.
This comes despite Ctrip’s recent announcement of collaboration with Priceline’s biggest rival Expedia.
That news came after Ctrip agreed to buy some of Expedia’s stake in another major Chinese OTA eLong.
"We consider Ctrip a market leader in China and we’re investing in a company and a team that we believe fits well with our long-term view of China as a market and the Chinese people as global travelers," said Priceline CEO Darren Huston.
In August 2014 Priceline, which owns travel websites Booking.com and Agoda, agreed to pump about $500m into Ctrip which is now valued at about $12 billion.
The two companies will continue to cross-promote some of their inventory between the brands.
"Today’s news aligns with our continued commitment to drive our existing commercial agreement with The Priceline Group forward in order to deliver more value for travelers seeking great accommodations all over the world," said Ctrip CEO James Liang.
