Priceline seals Momondo acquisition; Burge departs

Priceline acquired all of Momondo’s outstanding shares in a $550 million cash transaction yesterday (July 24).

The move sealed the acquisition which was announced in February.

Momondo, which is headquartered in the UK and Copenhagen and also has an office in Boston, will operate under Priceline’s travel search website Kayak with senior management reporting into its chief executive Steve Hafner.

Following the completion of the acquisition, Momondo’s chief executive Hugo Burge stepped down after 17 years with the company.

In a comment on Twitter, he said: “I’m rooting for our team, now part of Kayak, to carry on the fight for better travel search.”

Burge added: "I’m excited for the momondo and Cheapflights brands to join the Kayak family, to be even better placed to make travel search better for users under the leadership of Steve and the rest of the team. I watch with interest and am pausing to reflect on an amazing journey that I feel very privileged to be part of.

"I’ve learned loads, made great friends and have wonderful memories. Howzat, the investment fund I set up and run with David Soskin and Sascha Hausmann, is going great guns, so I’ll spend a bit more time on that, but otherwise I’m taking a brief break after an amazing journey.

"I’m bubbling with interests to follow and ideas that demand attention, but think I should sit on my hands for a bit after such an inspiring and fun experience.”