Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings, announced yesterday that it has entered into an Agreement (“Agreement”) with funds managed by Certares Management LLC (“Certares”) whereby Certares will purchase $325 million of 8% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock. The net proceeds from this investment, combined with $34 million of secured borrowings against a variable price forward and cash on hand, will repay 100% of the outstanding balance under Liberty TripAdvisor’s existing margin loan. Upon completion of this investment, Greg O’Hara, Founder and Senior Managing Director of Certares, is expected to join the Liberty TripAdvisor Board.
We welcome Certares as a strategic investor in Liberty TripAdvisor,” said Greg Maffei, Liberty TripAdvisor Chairman, President & CEO. “Certares has deep experience and a highly successful track record investing in the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors, and we will greatly benefit from Greg’s insight on our board. In addition, and importantly, this investment secures long-term financing, which is not tied to stock price movements in this volatile environment.”
“Liberty TripAdvisor is a natural fit for Certares,” said Greg O’Hara. “We seek leaders in our sectors and look forward to deeper involvement with Liberty TripAdvisor and TripAdvisor, the world’s largest online travel community.”
The Agreement contains certain covenants of Liberty TripAdvisor and Certares. These covenants along with additional terms of the Preferred Stock can be found in the Form 8-K that will be filed by Liberty TripAdvisor with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Liberty TripAdvisor expects to complete this investment within 10 business days.
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Société Générale S.A. served as financial advisors to Liberty TripAdvisor and Baker Botts L.L.P. served as its legal counsel. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as Certares’ legal counsel.
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