Orbitz Worldwide’s majority shareholder, Travelport, has agreed to invest $50 million in the company by purchasing 9 million new Orbitz shares.

Also, PAR Investment Partners has agreed to exchange $49.7 million in senior term debt for 8.2 million Orbitz shares.

After the investments, Blackstone Group (Travelport’s parent) is expected to own 54.5% of Orbitz’s common stock, down from 55%.

Both investments are expected to close in January.

Orbitz said funds received from Travelport are expected to be used for general corporate purposes, which could include investments and debt repayments.

The number of directors on Orbitz’s board will increase from eight to 10, as PAR will be granted the right to name one director and Travelport one additional director.

Orbitz announced the equity investments on the same day it released third-quarter earnings.

The company reported a net profit of $7 million for the quarter, compared with a $287 million loss the year before. Impairment charges related to goodwill and intangible assets accounted for most of last year’s third-quarter loss.

Orbitz’s net revenue fell 22%, from $240 million to $187 million. Air revenue was down 31% because Orbitz stopped charging booking fees on airline tickets in March. Hotel revenue fell 25% because of lower rates and decreased booking fees.

Orbitz slashed expenses by 25%, with marketing taking the biggest cut. Marketing expense was $48 million, a decrease of 44%. Orbitz said the decrease occurred in online and offline marketing, as the company focused on improving returns from online marketing and attracting more nonpaid website traffic.

Cost of revenue declined 17% because of lower customer service costs and lower customer refunds, Orbitz said. Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased 15% because of cost-cutting actions taken in late 2008.