Dallas, Texas 05/27/2014 (FINANCIALSTRENDS) – Travelport, that owns 48% of Orbitz Worldwide, Inc (NYSE:OWW), will sell a portion of its stake in this Chicago-based online travel-agency, potentially signaling its divestment. At the start of May, the chief executive officer of Travelport, Gordon Wilson has told Too, the travel-industry news website, that it might be offloading its stake in Orbitz “if its price and the market conditions are just right. A Travelport spokesperson stated that the company’s OWW equity stake is no any longer the strategic investment for them. Resultantly, they believe that it is prudent to monetize the OWW stake over a period of time & reallocate proceeds to further Travelport’s strategic-business plans.
Major Stakeholder
Post this sale, they will continue to be a major equity-holder in Orbitz. Last week, OWW announced an underwritten PO of 7.5M shares of the company’s common stock by a Travelport affiliate. The underwriters have the 30-day option to buy upto the additional 1.125M shares from Travelport. Also, Orbitz Worldwide, Inc (NYSE:OWW) will not receive the proceeds from this offering, said the company. Post this offering, Travelport’s stake in Orbitz Worldwide, Inc (NYSE:OWW) would reduce to 37.6% / 36.5% if the option is actually exercised, as per the prospectus that had been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Shares of OWW closed Friday at $7.24 up 4.62% percent.
What OWW Does
In March the company’s shares had spiked toward $10. Since then, they have also settled back to the level that they have been seen for most of the year, between $7- $8. OWW is an international online travel company which uses the technology to enable many leisure & business travelers to research and plan as well as book a variety of travel products & services. Its brand portfolio is inclusive of Orbitz, and CheapTickets, as well as the Away Network across in the Americas, and ebookers in Europe & HotelClub as well as RatesToGo that is based in Australia, that have operations internationally.