Expedia Group CEO Peter Kern on Navigating a Frenemy Relationship With Airbnb
Skift Take
Many companies won't reopen for business when coronavirus ebbs, but two that will definitely still be left standing will be Expedia Group and Airbnb. They could potentially find ways to cooperate in the face of bigger threats in the form of Google and Booking.com.
There have been whispers — mostly uninformed — that because private equity firm Silver Lake recently invested $1.2 billion in Expedia Group and $1 billion in Airbnb that the two rivals might have a merger in their future plans.
Newly appointed Expedia Group CEO Peter Kern, who has private equity experience of his own as a former managing partner of InterMedia Partners, spoke with Skift earlier this week about Silver Lake, Airbnb, Google, and his views on mergers and acquisitions in the coronavirus era.
Kern said he hopes Silver Lake will make money from both its Airbnb and Expedia Group investments, and he believes both rivals will emerge from the coronavirus crisis as still-strong competitors.
“Silver Lake was very upfront about their position with Airbnb, which did not bother us at all," said Kern, who was named Expedia's CEO in late April.
He added: “Neither one of them is a control investment, a significant investment, that’s going to guide the future of either company.“
It's clear that Kern views Airbnb and Expedia Group as frenemies, although he used the term "friendly competitors."
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A Partnership Invitation for Airbnb? Kern said both Airbnb and Expedia are good companies and there is no master plan because of Silver Lake to do a deal. Still, with Airbnb trimming a quarter of its staff and downplayi