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Expedia shares soared Thursday on news that Uber discussed a takeover bid for the travel booking giant, according to reports.
Expedia shares rose as much as 8.4% Wednesday evening after the Financial Times first reported the potential bid. Expedia shares closed up nearly 5% at $158.01 on Thursday.
The talks were in early stages and it is unclear whether an acquisition will take place since Uber has not formally approached Expedia, three people familiar with the process told the Financial Times.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi knows a thing or two about Expedia – the travel booking giant worth about $20 billion. He served as CEO of the booking group for more than a decade until 2017, when he took the helm at the rideshare company.
Uber has a market capitalization of around $168 billion after an 80.6% rally over the past year that boosted its stock price.
The company bounced back after a tough 2022, when cash-strapped customers pulled back on spending amid inflationary prices.
It’s not the first challenge Khosrowshahi has led the company through. When he joined Uber in 2017, the company was in the midst of a nearly year-long crisis. It had suffered severe reputation damage after allegations of sexual harassment at the company arose and Google’s Waymo accused Uber of stealing trade secrets in a lawsuit.
Uber was also then struggling to turn a profit after seven years of losses.
Now, Uber is enjoying a boom in rideshare demand. Its Uber Eats business has also found success as customers turn to food delivery options en masse.
Meanwhile, Expedia’s stock price is about 26% below its 2022 high. Though the company owns heavy-hitters like Hotels.com, Trivago and Travelocity, it still faces competition from industry big shots like Booking, Airbnb and Google.
Expedia’s own website allows customers to book flights, hotels, cars and tourism activities. In August, the Expedia Group reported $28.8 billion total gross bookings in its second quarter.
If Uber does acquire Expedia, it would be a “major strategic home run,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told CNBC.
The rideshare app has been working to expand its offerings – into food delivery, but also train and flight bookings and other travel services.
The merger could fulfill Uber’s wish of becoming a “super app,” Ives said.
Uber declined to comment. Expedia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
