TRAVEL giants The Priceline Group and Ctrip.com are expanding their existing collaboration that began in 2012, which will result in even more cross-selling of products.
Priceline will inject US$500 million through a convertible bond, while Ctrip has green-lighted Priceline’s intended acquisition of up to 10 per cent of Ctrip shares in the open market within the next 12 months.
An observer to the Ctrip board of directors will be appointed by Priceline.
In terms of products, Ctrip will offer additional Priceline Group brand services to its customers, including inventory from Rentalcars.com and OpenTable.
On the other hand, Priceline will promote Ctrip’s air ticketing and attraction ticketing to its customers.
“The Priceline Group is the global leader in online accommodations, and as such, a key strategic partner for us as we look to expand our global footprint,” said James Liang, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Ctrip.
Darren Huston, president & CEO of The Priceline Group, said: “Ctrip is the clear leader in online travel in China and we are pleased with the growth in Ctrip bookings through Booking.com and Agoda over the last two years…Travel to and from China is growing rapidly, and through this partnership, we have an opportunity to further help the world experience China, and China experience the world.”
Ctrip is China’s largest online travel company in terms of revenue, and Priceline has under its wing six primary travel brands – Booking.com, Priceline.com, Agoda.com, Kayak, Rentalcars.com and OpenTable.
