By Josh Beckerman
Chinese travel company Qunar Cayman Islands Ltd. said it
rejected an unsolicited buyout offer from rival Ctrip.com
International Ltd. and said private-equity firm Silver Lake led a
$500 million investment round in Qunar.
Additionally, Qunar and Baidu Inc. terminated their Zhixin
cooperation agreement but reached another agreement for hotel
information, Qunar said. Prior its 2013 initial public offering,
Qunar was a Baidu unit. As of March 31, Baidu owned 51.4% of
Qunar's outstanding ordinary shares.
Qunar said it received the unsolicited offer from Ctrip on May
8. "After careful consideration of such offer, we declined to
pursue it," but the company remains open to "further discussions
with Ctrip as well as with other strategic players in our
sector."
Last week, Priceline Group Inc. said it was increasing its stake
in Ctrip.
China's booming online travel business has become increasingly
competitive as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and other Internet giants
look to tap the surging ranks of Chinese tourists. In October,
Alibaba unveiled a travel marketplace branded Alitrip, a revamp of
its Taobao Travel arm.
Qunar also said first-quarter revenue doubled to $108.3 million
and projected 105% to 110% growth for the second quarter.
Silver Lake has invested $330 million, while another investor
contributed $170 million. Qunar will use the financing for growth,
including expanding its mobile presence.
Just over a month ago, Qunar named Yilu Zhao CFO, effective May
1. Ms. Zhao was previously chief strategy officer. She succeeded
Sam Hanhui Sun, who became president.
Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com
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