Priceline Group Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) announced yesterday that it is planning to offer senior notes in an underwritten public offering. The shares of the online travel company rose 1.68% or $19.33 post announcement.
Some of the primary underwriters for the offering include Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE:RBS), Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB)’s London branch, Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), and Citigroup (NYSE:C). Priceline Group Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) is going to use this money for stock repurchases, acquisitions, and repayment of existing debts.
Priceline has been involved in share repurchases and acquisitions for past several months.
Priceline Group Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) agreed to invest $500 million in the Chinese web travel company Ctrip.com International, Ltd. (NASDAQ: CTRP) through a convertible bond last month. Further, Priceline had the permission to purchases the shares of Ctrip.com over the period of one year and Priceline would acquire the right to appoint an observer in Ctrip.com’s board after the purchase of the convertible bond.
Earlier, Priceline Group Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) acquired digital market platform for hotels, Buuteeq, Inc. for an undisclosed amount. Darren Huston, CEO of Priceline Group, said, “Buuteeq has built an innovative, cloud-based marketing platform that we see playing a key role in helping us deliver even more value to our global accommodations partners worldwide.”
Following the acquisition of Buuteeq, Inc, Priceline Group Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) and OpenTable, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN) entered a definitive agreement under which Priceline group acquired OpenTable for $2.6 billion. Huston added, “OpenTable is a great match for The Priceline Group. They provide us with a natural extension into restaurant marketing services and a wonderful and highly-valued booking experience for our global customers.”
The string of acquisitions is likely considered as the consolidation phase of Priceline Group, which will guarantee an unprecedented growth in future.
This article has been written by Prakash Pandey.
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