Less than four months after going public, Kayak Software Corp. has reached an agreement to be acquired by Priceline.com Inc. for $1.8 billion, the companies announced Thursday.
Norwalk, Conn.-based Priceline will be paying the equivalent of $40 per share for Kayak, an online travel search company based in Norwalk, Conn., and Concord, Mass., the Boston Business Journal reported.
The share acquisition price represents a roughly 29 percent premium over Kayak's Thursday close of $31.04 a share, and is roughly 54 percent higher than its July initial public offering price of $26 a share.
In Thursday's announcement, Priceline CEO Jeffrey Boyd pointed to Kayak's "strong brand in online travel research and their track record of profitable growth," as well as the company's "world class technology."
Kayak CEO and co-founder Steve Hafner said in the announcement that Priceline's "global reach and expertise will accelerate our growth and help us further develop as a company."
Priceline said it would pay $500 million of the acquisition amount in cash and the remaining $1.3 billion in equity and assumed stock options. The acquisition, which requires approvals from regulatory authorities and Kayak shareholders, is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2013.