Booking Paid $90 Million Termination Fee For Its Failed eTraveli Acquisition

Booking Holdings, whose $1.8 billion deal to acquire Sweden’s eTraveli Group was blocked by European Commission earlier this year, paid out $90 million in termination fee this October, according to a nugget in its latest quarterly statement.

Typically deal breakup/termination fees are between 1-5 percent of the total deal value and paid by the seller to the acquirer, but in this case looks like the deal had a reverse termination clause and Booking Holdings had to pay eTraveli as a result, on the higher end of that fee range, in this case 5 percent.

From the filing:

"In November 2021, the Company entered into an agreement to acquire global flight booking provider Etraveli Group. The completion of the acquisition was subject to certain closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. In September 2023, the European Commission announced its decision to prohibit the acquisition and consequently a termination fee of 85 million Euros ($90 million) became payable to the sellers. The termination fee was paid in October 2023."

In case you missed it before, Booking CEO Glenn Fogel spoke at Skift GLobal Forum in late September and came out swinging, defending the deal. Watch the video below