Norwalk’s Priceline has agreed to buy travel price comparison engine Kayak in a $1.8 billion cash-and-stock deal.
The deal values Kayak, which went public less than four months ago, at $40 per share. Priceline plans to pay for the acquisition with $500 million cash and $1.3 billion in equity and assumed stock options.
Kayak and Priceline are both based in Norwalk, but Priceline said it will operate Kayak as an independent subsidiary, run by Kayak’s current management team. Pending shareholder and regulatory approvals, the companies expect the transaction to close in early 2013.
Kayak “has world class technology and a tradition of innovation in building great user interfaces,” Priceline CEO Jeffery Boyd said in a prepared statement.
Launched eight years ago, Kayak made its mark in the crowded travel space with a “metasearch” engine that lets shoppers easily compare prices for flights, hotels and rental cars across many different vendors.
Kayak also on Thursday released its third-quarter results. The company reported net income of $8 million on sales of $78.6 million, up 29% from a year ago.
