Expedia, Inc. Announces Agreement To Purchase Auto Escape Group

Expedia, Inc. today announced it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Auto Escape Group, one of Europe's leading online car rental reservation companies from private equity fund Montefiore Investment and certain members of the AutoEscape Group's management team. Upon closing, Auto Escape Group will become a part of the CarRentals.com brand and report into Henrik Kjellberg, President of the Hotwire Group. "We are excited to expand our CarRentals.com brand internationally so that we can provide our customers more choices across the globe and help our supply partners expand their marketing reach," said Henrik Kjellberg, President of the Hotwire Group. Expedia expects the deal to close during the third quarter of 2014 pending receipt of regulatory approval. Additional terms were not disclosed.