Uber discussed a bid for travel booking company Expedia, CNBC confirmed, in a deal that would push the ride-hailing company into new markets beyond car travel and food delivery.
The talks were in early stages, according to a person familiar with the discussions who asked not to be named since the talks are confidential. It is unclear if an acquisition will take place.
Expedia is familiar territory for Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who served as CEO of the travel group from 2005 to 2017. Khosrowshahi is still a nonexecutive member of Expedia’s board.
Uber has a market cap of around $168 billion after an 80% rally in the past year that pushed the stock price to a record earlier this month. The company has rebounded from a dismal 2022, when high gas prices and inflation curbed spending and more drivers came back to the platform following the pandemic. Uber’s resurgence has been driven by a boom in ride-hailing demand along with its Uber Eats food delivery service.
Expedia is worth around $20 billion. Its stock price remains below its 2022 high, as the company faces stiff competition from Booking, Airbnb and even Google.
Uber’s interest in Expedia was first reported by the Financial Times.
Shares of Expedia closed up nearly 5% Thursday.
Expedia users can book flights, lodging, cars and activities through the company’s website, and it owns additional travel sites such as Hotels.com, Vrbo and Orbitz. Expedia reported $28.8 billion total gross bookings in its second-quarter results in August.
An acquisition of Expedia would be a “‘major strategic home run” for Uber, Dan Ives, Wedbush Securities managing partner, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday. He said this suggests Uber is going on offense and looking for new monetization opportunities, and it could be a step toward a “super app.”
“They have a massive mojo, and they’re just gaining more and more share,” Ives said. “I think they’re going to be on the hunt for M&A.”
Uber and Expedia did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.