Share

KAYAK to be Purchased by Priceline for $1.8 Billion

If you ever go on a trip and need to fly somewhere, KAYAK is one of those must-have apps. I’ve used it several times to compare flights side by side. It’s really easy to specify criteria such as by airline, price, airport, number of layovers, etc. It has many other functions that I haven’t used, but luckily we did a full review in 2010.

– Compare flight, hotel and car rental deals
– Book your hotel, right in the app. Just choose KAYAK as your booking option
– Track your flight status
– View and manage your trip itinerary
– Look up baggage fees
– Access airline numbers and airport info

Well, it was just announced that KAYAK is going to be bought by Priceline. The deal includes $500 Million in cash and $1.3 Billion in stock options, paying out $40 a share to shareholders. KAYAK has been around for eight years, but only went public this year in July with an IPO of $26. The stock closed today at $31 a share. Both the respective boards of Priceline and KAYAK have already approved the acquisition and the deal is expected to be finalized by the first quarter of 2013. KAYAK will continue to operate as normal, but my prediction is that there will be some cross-app integration or some type of merger between the Priceline and KAYAK apps after all is said and done.

In the meantime, check out KAYAK for yourself.

http://youtu.be/xdXsU6CuWiQ

Application: KAYAK

Developer: KAKAK.com

Cost:  Free

Source: Mashable