Photo courtesy of Expedia Inc.
Orbitz Worldwide approved the acquisition of Orbitz by Expedia Inc. at the online travel agency's stockholders meeting on Wednesday in Chicago.
Roughly 74 percent of the company's shareholders cast votes. Of the votes that were cast, more than 99 percent were in favor of the transaction.
The transaction still remains subject to regulatory approval and additional customary closing conditions, but if it ultimately goes through Expedia will surpass Priceline Group as the world's largest OTA by bookings.
Expedia agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Orbitz Worldwide for $1.34 billion ($12 per share) on Feb. 12. This came after Expedia acquired Asia-Pacific OTA Wotif.com Holdings Ltd. in late 2014 and Travelocity-one of the four biggest OTAs in the world at the time-in January.
Expedia and Priceline Group are now by far the two biggest OTAs in the world. Expedia has made a lot of headway in the past year or so by acquiring Travelocity and - if ultimately approved - Orbitz, essentially eliminating two of its three biggest competitors from the picture.
Brands Orbitz.com, ebookers, HotelClub and CheapTickets, as well as travel technology solutions company Orbitz Partner Network, fall under the Orbitz Worldwide umbrella.
Priceline still owns major brands such as Priceline.com, Booking.com and Kayak.com.
Orbitz's approval of the acquisition comes after Orbitz and Expedia were asked for additional information and documentary material from the U.S. Department of Justice in late March.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
