Uber is exploring a potential acquisition of Expedia, according to a new report from The Financial Times.
Per the publication, Uber advisers have suggested the company look into whether the move would be feasible for the business. However, The Financial Times stressed that Uber’s interest is “at a very early stage” and no formal offer has been made.
Expedia, which is one of the largest travel booking agencies in the world, is valued at $20 billion USD (about $27.5 billion CAD). Therefore, this would be Uber’s biggest acquisition by far should it actually happen. Notable Uber acquisitions that have closed include Middle-Eastern rival Careem ($3.1 billion USD/about $4.2 billion CAD) and U.S. food delivery service Postmates ($2.65 billion USD/about $3.65 billion CAD).
With all of that said, it’s easy to consider high-level ways in which Uber could leverage Expedia. After all, the ride-hailing company has long expressed its desire to become an “everything app,” leading it to expand its initial taxi-like services to include grocery and package delivery and rental cars. Some form of integration with Expedia so you can book entire trips through Uber, and not just rides to and from airports, could be a logical extension for the company.
To that point, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi even told The Financial Times this week, “Anywhere you want to go in your city and anything that you want to get, we want to empower you to do so.” It should be noted, though, that Khosrowshahi served as Expedia’s CEO from 2005 to 2017 and remains a non-executive director on the board, so he’s expected to recuse himself from any deal discussions.
It remains to be seen what, if anything, will come out of Uber’s early interest in Expedia.
Image credit: Shutterstock
Source: The Financial Times
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