TripAdvisor, Parent’s Shares Surge Following Disclosure Of Third-Party Takeover Interest: Retail Mood Brightens

In mid-December, TripAdvisor and its parent Liberty TripAdvisor struck a merger arrangement, allowing the former to acquire the latter for about $435 million.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (TRIP) shares climbed on Thursday after its holding company Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings, Inc. (LTRPA) disclosed an acquisition offer from a third party for both companies.

In mid-December, TripAdvisor and its parent struck a merger arrangement, allowing TripAdvisor to acquire Liberty TripAdvisor for about $435 million. The companies said the transaction, scheduled to close in the second half of 2025, aims to simplify TripAdvisor’s capital structure and reduce its outstanding shares.

In a proxy statement filed with the SEC regarding the merger on Thursday, Liberty TripAdvisor called upon its shareholders to approve the proposed transaction in a special meeting of shareholders to be held virtually on a yet-to-be-determined date.

Liberty TripAdvisor also revealed that on Oct. 18, TripAdvisor received a non-binding indication of interest from a strategic bidder. Following back-and-forth exchanges, the strategic investor submitted a non-binding indication of interest to acquire both  TripAdvisor and Liberty TripAdvisor, subject to diligence and other customary conditions. 

The terms of the proposal called for the acquisition of:

• all outstanding shares of Tripadvisor not held by Liberty TripAdvisor for $18 to $19 per share in cash
• all outstanding shares of Liberty TripAdvisor common stock for $0.3080 per share in cash
•  all outstanding shares of Liberty TripAdvisor preferred stock for $102 million in the aggregate

A TripAdvisor special committee that investigated the merits of the third-party’s offer deemed that the proposal continued to be inadequate and determined not to pursue it further. 

On Stocktwits, sentiment TripAdvisor stock turned to ‘extremely bullish’ (89/100) from the ‘neutral’ mood that prevailed a day ago. Retail chatter grew louder, spiking message volume to ‘extremely high’ levels. 

The Liberty TripAdvisor stream on the platform showed ‘extremely bullish’ sentiment among retail investors and ‘extremely high’ message volume.

In late-afternoon trading, TripAdvisor stock jumped about 11% to $17.48 and its holding company’s stock added about 3.35% to $0.2620.

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