Travel reservations service Expedia has paid $270m for a 20% stake in Argentina-based online travel agency Decolar.com, chief financial officer Mark Okerstrom told investors in New York on Tuesday.
Founded in 1999, Decolar also operates under the brand Despegar and covers 21 markets including Spain and the US, though most of them are situated in Latin America. Its investors also include growth equity firm General Atlantic.
Decolar offers travellers a range of options from booking hotels to booking flights at the cheapest available rates, also securing them discounts at local restaurants and shops.
Expedia and Decolar first established a commercial partnership in 2002, enabling Expedia to tap into Decolar’s network with hotels in the Latin American market. The investment is set to strengthen this partnership, and at the same time give Decolar wider access to Expedia’s list of hotels.
Decolar currently maintains a portfolio of more than 500 airlines and 150,000 hotels. Expedia will also assist Decolar with online marketing efforts, though the two companies will otherwise continue operations independently from each other.
Expedia acquired Australia-based travel agency Wotif Group for A$703m ($612m) in November 2014. Two months later it purchased US-based travel agency Travelocity for $280m, and in February 2015 announced plans to acquire travel agency Orbitz for $1.6bn.
Dara Khosrowshahi, president and chief executive of Expedia, said: “Decolar is a clear online travel leader in the highly attractive Latin American market.
“We are incredibly excited to grow our exposure to customers in Latin America through our investment, and to power Decolar’s growing outbound lodging demand through our global supply team.”