Expedia shares fly on report of talks to sell stake for $1 billion

(Reuters) – Shares of Expedia Group Inc rose 9% on Wednesday after a report that the online travel services company was in advanced talks to sell a stake to private-equity firms Silver Lake Partners and Apollo Global Management Inc for about $1 billion.

The talks, which were reported https://www.reuters.com/article/us-expedia-group-stake/expedia-nearing-deal-to-sell-stake-to-silver-lake-and-apollo-wsj-idUSKCN224032 by the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, come as companies across sectors look to shore up their finances in a bid to weather the raging coronavirus crisis.

Expedia shares have fallen about 47% this year, taking a hard knock from the pandemic as lockdowns in many countries have decimated travel demand.

“The biggest overhang on Expedia’s stock over the last month has been fears regarding its liquidity position,” Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell

“The news that it may be nearing a deal with Silver Lake and Apollo raises confidence that it will be able to make it through this current crisis relatively unscathed.”

(Reporting by Rachit Vats and Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru, Editing by Anil D’Silva)