AirAsia forges share purchase agreement with Expedia

MANILA, Philippines - AirAsia today announced the execution of a share purchase agreement with Expedia Inc., Expedia Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd., and AirAsia Exp Pte. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of AirAsia, to divest a 25-percent stake in AAE Travel Pte. Ltd., the joint venture between Expedia and AirAsia, to Expedia for a consideration of $86.3 million. This will increase Expedia’s total ownership of equity in the joint venture to 75 percent.

In connection with this transaction, AirAsia has also amended and concurrently executed certain additional agreements with Expedia.

“We started the JV with Expedia back in 2011 and together, we’ve built a fantastic business. The vision of marrying Expedia, a globally recognized and highly regarded travel agency, with the AirAsia group network has yielded a significant return in just over three years.

We remain committed as partners as Expedia continues to develop in this region, and this agreement will simultaneously allow for the AirAsia group to further develop and diversify its distribution network. We look to further maximize sales opportunities as we make our inventory available across multiple sales channels and geographies.

Identifying and working with the best partners allows us to continuously offer innovative products and solutions to our guests, further solidifying our position as market leaders.

This is in line with our strategy of early equity investment in adjacent businesses that have strong synergies with AirAsia across the travel value chain. Over the years, AirAsia has also invested in partnerships with Tune Insurance, Asian Aviation Centre of Excellence with CAE, Think Big Digital with Aimia and Tune Money, and we continue to look for additional partnership opportunities,” said Tony Fernandes, AirAsia Group CEO.