Ctrip Announces Additional $250 Million Investment From Priceline Group

Shares of

Ctrip.com International, Ltd.CTRIP

spiked more than five percent during Tuesday's pre-market trading session after the company

announced an additional $250 million investment from Priceline Group Inc PCLN. Ctrip stated that the investment will be made via a convertible bond and the company has granted permission to Priceline Group to raise its ownership in Ctrip through the acquisition of its American depositary shares in the open market. China based Ctrip is a leading travel service provider of accommodation reservation, transportation ticketing, packaged tours, and corporate travel management in China. U.S. based Priceline Group is a market leader online travel company. The two companies began a commercial relationship in 2012, which was expanded in August 2014 along with a $500 million investment by Priceline Group. "Ctrip continues to be a very important partner for The Priceline Group in China, and we look forward to continuing to build upon that partnership," said Darren Huston, CEO of Booking.com and President & CEO of The Priceline Group in a

press release.

"We consider Ctrip a market leader in China and we're investing in a company and a team that we believe fits well with our long-term view of China as a market and the Chinese people as global travelers." James Liang, Chairman and CEO of Ctrip said, "Today's news aligns with our continued commitment to drive our existing commercial agreement with The Priceline Group forward in order to deliver more value for travelers seeking great accommodations all over the world." With the new $250 million investment, Priceline's ownership stake in Ctrip will account for approximately 10.5 percent of Ctrip's outstanding shares. Ctrip's announcement on Tuesday follows last Friday's announcement that the company acquired a 37.6 percent equity stake in

eLong, Inc.LONG

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