Priceline Buys Momondo for $550 Million to Expand in Europe
Skift Take
The acquisition of the Momondo Group is the Priceline Group's largest since buying OpenTable -- and subsequently having to take a write down -- in 2014. Through the acquisition, Kayak gets a strong brand in parts of Europe and ensures that no other rivals step in to take Momondo away from it.
With consolidation and other metasearch rivals getting stronger, the Priceline Group signed a deal to acquire UK and Denmark-based metasearch site Momondo Group for $550 million in cash.
Skift reported exclusively last month that Priceline's Kayak unit was shopping for a metasearch rival in Europe and that talks were under way between Kayak and Momondo. The discussions started in the Fall.
The Priceline Group officially made the acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approvals, but the Momondo Group, with its Momondo and Cheapflights metasearch brands, will be rolled into Kayak. The enlarged Kayak will likely determine country by country which would be the leading brands among the three in specific geographies.
The deal price of $550 million, with the Priceline Group buying all of Momondo Group's stock, isn't a huge one compared with Priceline's acquisition of OpenTable for $2.6 billion in 2014 -- but it is the Group's largest since then.
Kayak co-founder and CEO Steve Hafner tells Skift that the acquisition of the Momondo Group, which is strong in flight metasearch, will help Kayak in markets such as the UK
