Ctrip extends global reach with $1.7 billion Skyscanner acquisition
Nov 24, 2016
Ctrip.com will buy air-ticketing specialist Skyscanner for about $1.7 billion, as China’s biggest online travel company explores ways to expand beyond a home market it already dominates.
Ctrip, whose growth in years past was tied to the phenomenal rise of Chinese tourism, gains a strong foothold in Europe through the purchase of 13-year-old Skyscanner, one of the region’s larger flight ticketing services with more than 60 million monthly active users. The Chinese company said the acquisition will help it offer users a more complete array of options that combine air, rail and road travel.
Ctrip announced the deal alongside better-than-expected quarterly revenue and earnings on Wednesday. Its shares climbed almost 7 percent in New York during after-hours trade.
“The investment will strengthen our positioning on a global scale, serving customers in other parts of the world,” Chairman James Liang told analysts on a post-earnings conference call. “These investments have helped us develop a more comprehensive global travel ecosystem to better serve both our existing and potential customers.”
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