Apr 22, 2020 - Economy

Expedia nears deal to sell $1 billion stake to private equity

Dan Primack

illustration of a paper airline made of money — Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Apollo Global Management and Silver Lake are in "advanced talks" to invest around $1 billion in travel-booking portal Expedia (Nasdaq: EXPE), per the Wall Street Journal.

Why it matters: Private equity has begun bargain-hunting, and Apollo and Silver Lake have emerged as the most eager coupon-clippers.

Details: Expedia closed trading yesterday with a market cap just north of $8 billion, having fallen around 50% this year. The new investors would be expected to receive a board seat.
Added intrigue: Silver Lake just invested in Airbnb, which competes with Expedia's HomeAway platform.
The bottom line: "Companies of all stripes — but especially in the travel sector — have been drawing down on credit lines and looking for other ways to stockpile cash to withstand potentially months of social-distancing measures. Expedia’s peers, including Sabre and Booking Holdings, have both issued new debt in recent weeks." — Cara Lombardo, WSJ

Go deeper: Travel fears at their highest since 9/11 due to coronavirus

Add Axios on Google

Expedia nears deal to sell $1 billion stake to private equity

What to read next