BookIt.com Receives $10 Million Loan To Fuel Expansion

BookIt.com, a relatively small online travel agency focusing on the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean, received a $10 million loan, what it characterizes as its first infusion of outside capital in a decade.

Although its announcement characterized the transaction as "funding," Tom DiBacco, vice president of business and finance at the company, said the $10 million comes in the form of a term loan.

"This was strictly a loan and not equity," DiBacco says. "Ownership hasn't changed.  We need the capital to fund growth."

The company plans on using the financing, which it received from Chicago-based Monroe Capital, to invest in technology, expand its products and to strike relationships with additional hotels.

Monroe Capital specializes in providing junior and senior debt and equity co-investments for mid-market companies.

BookIt.com is based in Panama City, Florida.