Priceline says some of the proceeds from its just-announced $500 million convertible-note offering may be used for corporate acquisitons, leading Susquehanna Financial Group to speculate that Priceline engineered the move because it may have felt it needed to match Expedia’s $1 billion warchest for future acquisitions.
Expedia and Priceline, of course, are at loggerheads across Europe and Asia over their respective hotel businesses. And, both companies would admit that Priceline has been the more solid executioner, so to speak.
In a note to investors from financial analysts Marianne Wolk and Malindi Davies, Susquehanna Financial Group argues that Priceline has a history of acquisitions, including Booking.com and Agoda, and that its future M & A activity may include broadening Priceline’s reach in Asia and Latin America, or diversifying its business by picking up a mobile company.
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