Uber Technologies is reportedly considering an acquisition of online travel giant Expedia Group.
The deal, should it happen, would represent not only the latest strategic move by Uber but also a nostalgic return for CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who helmed Expedia for over a decade before swapping flights for surface transport in 2017.
It was during his tenure at Expedia that Khosrowshahi benefited from the mentorship of veteran dealmaker Barry Diller. As board chairman, Diller helped transform Expedia into one of the largest online travel-booking platforms in the world. Its reported revenue for the first six months of 2024 was $6.45 billion; full-year revenue for 2023 was $12.84 billion.
Considering Uber boasts a market cap of roughly $168 billion, it’s plausible that Khosrowshahi may be ready to reclaim a piece of his past. Like Diller, Khosrowshahi hasn’t been shy about wielding Uber’s M&A might, although the results achieved have been mixed. His biggest purchase was in…