Expedia Inc., one of three of the largest online travel companies in the country, announced on Thursday that it will purchase rival Orbitz Worldwide Inc. for approximately $1.33 billion, Reuters reports.
"This deal is a good step in the right direction," S&P Capital IQ analyst Amobi said of the deal, according to the site.
"It's very important for them to signal to the world that they are a hunter as opposed to being hunted."
The purchase, which was described as "competitive," now only leaves one major competitor company within the online travel industry: Priceline. Expedia also purchased rival company Travelocity just several weeks ago, then bringing the number of major competitors down to three.
Despite the growing possibility of Expedia soon being more heavily scrutinized for its alleged bending of anti-trust rules, some believe the deal is "not likely to cause a huge stir among anti-trust regulators."
"In the world of antitrust law there's a get-out-of-jail-free card called the 'failing company doctrine' that allows the combination of two competitors even if it creates an actual, or near-monopoly situation if the only other option would be to allow one of the companies to collapse," Forbes analyst Dan Reed writes.
"Orbitz does not now qualify as a dying company. But a good lawyer likely could argue effectively that while Orbitz might be able to stagger along for a several more years, even making profits as it does so, it has no viable, long-term future as a standalone company."
Expedia is set to inherit the following brands from Orbitz: Orbitz.com, EBookers.com, Orbitz For Business, CheapTickets.com, HotelClub, Mr. Jet, Ratestogo.com, Asia-Hotels.com, Trip.com and GTA.
