China’s Ctrip to acquire VC-backed UK travel site Skyscanner

Skyscanner's current management team will continue to run the business as an independent unit within the Ctrip group once the deal closes by the end of this year. Payment will primarily be in cash, plus Ctrip ordinary shares and loan notes, Ctrip said in a statement.

Launched in 2003, Skyscanner's marketplace enables users to compare prices from different travel sites when searching for flights, hotels, and rental cars. The platform currently serves 60 million monthly active users and is available in over 30 languages.

Scottish Equity Partners was an early investor in Skyscanner, having committed GBP2.5 million to the start-up in 2008. Sequoia Capital acquired a stake in Skyscanner in October 2013, valuing the company at $800 million.

Earlier this year, Skyscanner raised a GBP128 million round from five new investors through the sale of primary and secondary shares. They included UK fund manager Artemis, Baillie Gifford, European PE firm Vitruvian Partners, Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional, and Yahoo Japan - which already has a joint venture with Skyscanner to expand into the Japanese market.

"This acquisition will strengthen long-term growth drivers for both companies," said James Liang, co-founder and executive chairman of Ctrip. "Skyscanner will complement our positioning at a global scale, and we will leverage our experience, technology and booking capabilities to help Skyscanner."

US-listed Ctrip provides accommodation reservation, transportation ticketing, packaged tour and corporate travel management services in China. Last year, it agreed an all-share merger with its domestic rival Qunar which will create a clear leader in the hotel and air ticket booking market. Ctrip also invested $180 million in India's largest online travel agency MakeMyTrip earlier this year.

Ctrip generated RMB11.9 billion ($172 million) in revenue last year, compared to RMB7.35 billion in 2014. Its net profit jumped to RMB2.5 billion from RMB242 million over the same period.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Greater China
• Consumer
• Technology
• Trade sale
• Europe
• China
• United Kingdom
• TMT
• M&A
• Venture