Tripadvisor spending $435 million to simplify ownership, gain flexibility

A deal announced last month by struggling travel site Tripadvisor to simplify its ownership structure could help the company get back on track in 2025, analysts said.

Under the deal announced on Dec. 19, Tripadvisor will acquire a holding company called Liberty TripAdvisor, a spinoff from billionaire cable mogul John Malone’s empire that ended up with a controlling stake in Tripadvisor. Laden with debt and run by Malone successor Greg Maffei, the holding company has had the ability to nix major Tripadvisor moves and has complicated the understanding of what Tripadvisor was actually worth, because of all of its debt.

As part of the deal, Needham-based Tripadvisor will pay a total of $435 million to eliminate the holding company’s ownership stake and wipe out that company’s debts in an effort to end the complex ownership structure. That could make it easier for Tripadvisor to bulk up with acquisitions or slim down by selling part or all of the company, analysts said.

“The…