The multi-billion dollar acquisition de jour has been announced, with Priceline purchasing reservation service OpenTable for $2.6 billion.
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Priceline offers online reservation-making for hotels and flights, making it a natural fit as the owner of OpenTable, which runs the same service for restaurants. Many dining establishments have integrated OpenTable into their websites, allowing users to reserve a table online without having to call.
According to the press release, The Priceline Group will acquire OpenTable for $103 per share in an all cash transaction valued at $2.6 billion.
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"OpenTable is a great match for The Priceline Group. They provide us with a natural extension into restaurant marketing services and a wonderful and highly-valued booking experience for our global customers," said Darren Huston, President & CEO of Priceline.
"We look forward to helping the OpenTable team accelerate their global expansion, increase the value offered to their restaurant partners, and enhance the end-to-end experience for our collective customers across desktop and mobile devices."
OpenTable is available both online and on mobile devices as an app, streamlining the reservation-making process. The service has a good reputation, something Priceline is no doubt happy to add to its stable of reservation-making products.
OpenTable was launched in 2008, and has since seated more than 125 million diners worldwide. Over 31,000 restaurants use the service, leading to roughly 15 million users per month.