Expedia shares soared Thursday after news that Uber has reportedly discussed a proposed acquisition of the travel booking giant.
Expedia stock rose as much as 8.4% Wednesday night. First reported by the Financial Times Potential bid amount. Expedia shares rose 3.8% Thursday morning.
Talks are in the early stages and Uber has not formally approached Expedia, so it's unclear whether a deal will happen, three people familiar with the process told the Financial Times.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi knows a thing or two about Expedia, the travel booking giant worth about $20 billion. He served as CEO of the reservation group for more than a decade before taking the helm of the rideshare company in 2017.
Uber's stock has risen 80.6% over the past year, giving it a market capitalization of about $168 billion.
The company bounced back after a tough year in 2022, when cash-strapped customers cut back on spending amid rising prices.
This isn't the first challenge Khosrowshahi has led the company through. When he joined Uber in 2017, the company was in the midst of a nearly year-long crisis. The company had suffered severe reputational damage after allegations of sexual harassment surfaced and Google's Waymo filed a lawsuit accusing Uber of stealing trade secrets.
At the time, Uber was also struggling to turn a profit after seven years of losses.
Uber is currently enjoying a boom in ride-sharing demand. The company's Uber Eats business has also seen success as customers turn to food delivery options en masse.
Meanwhile, Expedia's stock price is about 26% below its 2022 high. Although the company owns powerful companies such as Hotels.com, trivago and Travelocity, it still faces competition from industry giants such as Booking, Airbnb and Google.
Expedia's own website lets you book flights, hotels, cars, and sightseeing activities. In August, Expedia Group announced that total bookings for the second quarter were $28.8 billion.
If Uber buys Expedia, it would be a “huge strategic home run'', Wedbush analyst says Dan Ives told CNBC..
The ride-sharing app is working on expanding its services beyond food delivery to include train and flight bookings and other travel services.
Ives said the merger could fulfill Uber's desire to become a “super app.”
Uber declined to comment. Expedia did not respond to a request for comment.
