Uber is reportedly exploring the idea of buying Expedia, one of the world’s largest travel booking companies. Financial Times. Expedia, which is valued at $20 billion and will report its highest annual revenue in 2023, would be the company’s largest acquisition if the deal goes through. The Times However, he says it’s very early days and Uber hasn’t even made a formal offer for the ride-hailing company yet. It is still in the process of learning the implications of the Expedia acquisition and has worked with advisers in recent months to figure out whether a deal is possible and how it should be structured.
The company’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, may have to sideline contract talks, given that he was previously CEO of Expedia. is hired by a ride service In 2017. He is still on its Board of Directors. Khosrowshahi does not appear to be the potential bidder, but in his report, Times said the idea was “suggested by a third party”.
Uber has been planning to become a larger ride booking platform for some time now. Khosrowshahi said he wanted Uber to be the “Amazon of transportation” since he joined the company. Since then, the ride-hailing service has added train, bus and flight bookings in some markets and made several major acquisitions. Purchased an online food delivery service Postmates for $2.65 billion and alcohol delivery service Drizzly for $1.1 billion before closing three years later. The company also merged Waymo and Cruise to offer autonomous rides in certain markets. as Times notes that Uber turned a profit for the first time in 2023 due to increased demand for rides and food delivery, and could be in a good position to acquire a large company like Expedia.
