Priceline to Buy OpenTable for $2.6 Billion
By MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED
DealBook
New York Times
June 13, 2014 8:44 am
Priceline agreed on Friday to buy OpenTable for $2.6 billion in cash, moving the online travel booking site into the business of restaurant reservations.
Under the terms of the deal, Priceline will pay $103 a share through a tender offer for OpenTable’s shares. The offer represents a 46 percent premium to Thursday’s closing price.
Adding OpenTable is a bet by Priceline that it can continue to grow by adding another prominent brand to its stable of sites, which include Kayak and Booking.com.
The restaurant reservation site, which says it seats more than 15 million diners each month at 31,000 restaurants, had long been of interest, said Priceline’s chief executive, Darren Huston.
“For us it’s a really natural extension,” he said. “A lot of what we do day to day is very similar.”
The chief executive of OpenTable, Matt Roberts, added in a statement: “We couldn’t be more excited to join a group of brands leading in their space, and we look forward to the next chapter of our own journey as we continue to enhance the dining experience for our customers worldwide.”
After the deal closes, which is expected by the end of September, Mr. Roberts and his team will continue to run OpenTable out of their offices in San Francisco.
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