The Blackstone Group completed its $4.3
billion acquisition of the Cendant Corp.'s Travelport enterprise,
marking the equity firm's largest foray into the technology sector.
The sale was first
announced on June 30.
Travelport
encompasses two divisions, Orbitz Worldwide, which includes AoYou.com, Away
Network, CheapTickets.com, eBookers.com, HotelClub.com, Needahotel.com, Octopus Travel, Orbitz.com, Ratestogo.com and
Travelbag, and the Business Group, which comprises aiRes, Galileo,
GTA (Gullivers Travel Associates), Neat Technology Solution, Orbitz
for Business, Shepherd Systems, Thor, Travelbound, Travelport for
Business, Trust International and WizCom.
Blackstone said it
would sell 14% of the new Travelport to Technology Crossover
Ventures (TCV).
"Clearly, the
travel industry is driven by the winds of consumer demographics and
rapidly growing new markets such as China and India," said Chip
Schorr, Blackstone's senior managing director, in a statement. "In
this context, we expect Travelport's widely recognized brands,
global reach, local expertise, and world-class management team will
continue to bolster our view of Travelport as the most relevant
company in the travel space."
To
contact the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail to Michael
Milligan at mmmilligan@travelweekly.com.