It’s been two months since Liberty Tripadvisor announced it was exploring a potential sale of itself and Tripadvisor, which it controls. Tripadvisor, in turn, formed an independent committee to vet any deals.
Both companies in the interim have been hush-hush about any deal developments, though Bloomberg reported that private equity firm Apollo Global Management expressed interest.
Now there’s a new twist involving Viator, Tripadvisor’s tours and activities unit and its hottest brand: Ben Drew, Viator’s president, said he’d be leaving next week.
Viator just broke even last year, but revenue grew 49%, much faster than anything else in Tripadvisor’s portfolio.
The impact of the departure is unclear: Drew said he was leaving for a new position outside of the travel industry.
But one travel industry C-suite executive with experience in mergers and…