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Trivago, the hotel search platform that is majority owned by Expedia, raised USD 287 million in an initial public offering (IPO) on Thursday, far below expectations, according to a person familiar with the matter. The underwhelming pricing of the Düsseldorf, Germany-based company's offering reflects some concerns among investors, in a challenging year for technology IPOs, that it may be too reliant on a few online travel companies for its revenue. Hotel booking platforms such as Trivago allow customers to search through hotel deals aggregated across a variety of online travel sites. It makes much of its money from online travel agencies, which pay for each click a customer makes on their hotel offers. Majority shareholder Expedia is one of its biggest customers, which along with brand affiliates such as Travelocity and Hotwire comprised 35% of its total revenue this year through the end of September. Priceline Group and its affiliated brands such a Booking.com, contributed 43% of the company's revenue through the same time period. Trivago rival Tripadvisor has seen its stock tumble in recent months, as its growth has slowed and it has sought to shift to a model that allows customers to book directly. Trivago will list on Friday on Nasdaq. |
