Aiming to get hold of a larger share in China’s lucrative outbound-travel market, online travel firm Priceline Group, Inc. announced on Tuesday that it will increase its investment in Ctrip.com International Ltd.
Priceline CEO Darren Huston said that "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."
The firm is adding another $250 million via convertible bond on top of a similar $500-million investment it made during summer. Converting the bonds, the investment will sum up to about a 10.5-percent share in Ctrip.
Moreover, the Shanghai-based travel site Ctrip permitted Priceline to increase its share to up to 15 percent after allowing it to acquire the firm's American depositary shares in the market.
"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," Huston added.
Based on the two firms' existing commercial deal, Ctrip's inventory of hotels in the country is being advertised on Priceline's hotel booking site. On the other hand, Ctrip could offer its wide-ranging roster of deals via Priceline platforms such as Booking.com and Agoda.com.
Last week, Ctrip, along with other groups of buyers, got hold of a 62.4-percent majority stake in the Chinese mobile and online travel service, eLong Inc. 37.6 percent of the share worth $400 million belonged to Ctrip.