SHANGHAI, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's top onlinetravel service provider Ctrip.com International will acquire flight comparisonsite Skyscanner for 1.4 billion British pounds (about 1.74 billion U.S.dollars) and become its majority share-holder, sources with the companies saidThursday.
Nasdaq-listed Ctrip said the purchase, to be concludedby the end of this year, will be mainly in cash with the balance in shares andloan notes.
A Ctrip statement quoted chairman James JianzhangLiang as saying that the acquisition will strengthen both companies: Ctrip willconsolidate its global position and Skyscanner will get a boost in experience,technology and booking capability.
Skyscanner CEO Gareth Williams said in anotherstatement that the company will remain operationally independent.
Founded in 1999, Ctrip is China's top online travelservice provider. In 2015, Ctrip bought its rival Qunar and became the toponline travel agency in China.
Ctrip made net revenue of 5.6 billion yuan (820million U.S. dollars) in the third quarter of 2016, up 75 percent from a yearearlier, according to the company's latest financial report.
A single purchase
