Expedia, Inc. announced on Friday that it sold its 62.4 percent majority stake in eLong Inc., a Chinese online travel agency, to multiple China-based purchasers for a total price of $671 million.
The buyers include Ctrip.com International, Ltd., Keystone Lodging Holdings Limited, Plateno Group Limited and Luxuriant Holdings Limited. According to Reuters, Ctrip said it purchased a 37.6 percent stake in competitor eLong at a cost of roughly $400 million.
There was no explanation for the sale in the company's brief announcement. However, eLong has been struggling of late. The company's net income losses continued to pile up during the first quarter of 2015, surpassing $40 million.
Expedia also announced that it and Ctrip will cooperate in an effort to benefit respective customers with select travel product offerings in specified markets.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that "eLong's U.S.-listed shares rose 31 percent to a near four-year high of $27 in premarket trading on Friday."
Bellevue, Washington-based Expedia originally acquired a 30 percent stake in eLong more than a decade ago before raising its stake to over 62 percent back in 2011.
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