Kayak has a short life as a public company:
Priceline.com Agrees to Buy Kayak for $1.8 Billion
By WILLIAM ALDEN
DealBook
New York Times
November 8, 2012, 4:37 pm
Just months after going public, Kayak Software is being acquired.
Priceline.com, a travel company from an earlier Internet age, is buying Kayak, its younger rival, for $40 a share, Kayak announced on Thursday. The cash-and-stock deal values Kayak at about $1.8 billion.
The price represents a 29 percent premium over Kayak’s closing price of $31 a share on Thursday. The transaction, which is subject to shareholder approval, has been approved by both boards, Kayak said.
“We’re excited to join the world’s premier online travel company,” Steve Hafner, Kayak’s chief executive, said in a statement.
Kayak announced the deal as it reported earnings on Thursday.
The company said it generated revenue of $78.6 million in the third quarter, an increase of 29 percent from the period a year earlier. Its net income rose 14 percent to $8 million.
Kayak’s stock has risen since its I.P.O. in July, in which its shares were priced at $26 apiece. The company had a long journey to the public markets, after initially filing to go public in 2010.
“Kayak has built a strong brand in online travel research and their track record of profitable growth is demonstrative of their popularity with consumers and value to advertisers,” Jeffery H. Boyd, Priceline’s chief executive, said in a statement. “We believe we can be helpful with Kayak’s plans to build a global online travel brand.”
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