Washington, Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Expedia Inc., the online travel bookings service
owned by Microsoft Corp., said it hopes to sell a 13.6 percent stake to new investors
through its initial public offering.
The stock sale will consist of 5.2 million common shares ranging in price from $10 to
$12 apiece, according to an amended registration statement filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Expedia, based in Redmond, Washington, didn't disclose the
number of shares it hoped to sell or their estimated price when it first filed to go public
last month.
The Expedia stock sale is part of Microsoft's plan to take advantage of soaring stock
prices for Internet-related companies. Earlier this year, Microsoft said it was considering
issuing a tracking stock that would reflect all of its Internet activities, and its plans to
sell a stake in Expedia have fueled expectations of more public sales.
Expedia will have 38.2 million shares outstanding after the IPO. Assuming a share price
of $11, at the middle of the range, Expedia would have an implied market value of $420
million. Microsoft will have an 86.4 percent stake after the IPO.
In the filing, Microsoft said it will continue to include Expedia's financial results in its
consolidated federal tax returns as long as it owns at least 80 percent of Expedia shares.
Microsoft said it will include the financial data in its consolidated financial reports as long
is it maintains control of Expedia's outstanding common stock, the filing said.
The stock sale will raise $51.4 million after expenses. Expedia said it plans to use the
proceeds for working capital and general corporate purposes, in particular to increase
its spending on brand development, sales and marketing and strategic relationships.
The Expedia Web site lets travelers make reservations online. Its partners include AMR
Corp.'s American Airlines.
÷1999 Bloomberg L.P. |
