Expedia makes a big push for Asia with $659 million acquisition

Travel booking titan Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) is making a big push for new users and revenue streams in Asia today with the A$703 million (US$659.5 million) acquisition of Australia-based Wotif Group (ASX:WTF). It runs a number of travel sites in the region, such as Wotif.com, Lastminute.com.au, Travel.com.au, LateStays, and GoDo.com.au (hat-tip to The Next Web).

Wotif’s numerous sites will remain running under the auspices of US-based Expedia.

The deal effectively buys the group for A$3.30 per share. Wotif’s shares rose in Monday trading after the announcement from Expedia and now stand at A$3.29. That’s down from a peak of A$7.69 per share in April 2010.

The Asia-Pacific online travel booking market is set to be worth US$97 billion this year, according to estimates from Statista. That will grow to US$131 billion by 2016. The region accounts for 30 percent of global online travel sales in 2014, but that’s set to rise to 36.8 percent in 2016.

See: Last-minute hotel booking app HotelQuickly is no longer so last minute

“Wotif Group will add to our collection of travel’s most trusted brands and enhance our Asia-Pacific supply,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, Expedia’s president and CEO, in the announcement.

Wotif’s sites recorded A$593 million (US$555.5 million) in gross bookings (total transaction value) and A$76 million (US$71.2 million) in revenue in the second half of 2013. Users booked 3.2 million room nights in that period.

Completion of the acquisition is subject to approval by Wotif shareholders. If approved, the deal will be wrapped up during Q4 2014.