HomeAway Investors, It's Time To Move To Criteo

• HomeAway, Inc. (NASDAQ: AWAY) shares have gained 36 percent since October 9, having spiked during the last 5 trading days.
• Pacific Crest’s Evan Wilson downgraded the rating on the company to Sector Weight.
• The company has agreed to be acquired by Expedia Inc (NASDAQ: EXPE), and there are no counter bids likely, Wilson said.

HomeAway has agreed to be acquired by Expedia in a deal that calls for $38.31 per share - $10.15 in cash and 0.2065 Expedia shares for every share of HomeAway. The deal has the unanimous approval of both the boards, and the transaction is expected to close in 1Q16.

Analyst Evan Wilson said that the announcement of a 6 percent consumer fee at HomeAway “could close the monetization gap with Airbnb, and increases the value of HomeAway as a strategic asset, in our mind.”

Wilson added that even with this announcement, deal still looks “cheap” and that if HomeAway had announced the fee prior to the acquisition, the purchase price may have been substantially higher.

Priceline Group Inc (NASDAQ: PCLN) has announced that it has no plans of offering a competing bid for HomeAway. Since Priceline was the main candidate for another bid, the probability has declined significantly.

“AWAY was one of the few SMID internet names we liked, but the low likelihood of a competing offer leaves little room for material appreciation in its shares,” Wilson wrote, while adding that Criteo SA (ADR) (NASDAQ: CRTO) [Rated: Overweight] may be a better play for small-cap or value Internet investors.