What happened
Shares of Expedia Group (EXPE 1.16%) jumped as much as 9.7% today after the company announced a new CEO and $3.2 billion in new financing. Shares settled to a 6.8% gain at 12:30 p.m. EDT.
As Expedia rose, TripAdvisor (TRIP 3.05%) came along for the ride, given their similar business models. There wasn't specific news about the company, but shares were up as much as 6% and were up 4% as of this writing.
So what
Vice Chairman Peter Kern was named CEO of Expedia Group, and Eric Hart was named CFO. This comes after a management shakeup that started last December and should give Expedia some management stability through the current crisis.
Image source: Getty Images.
Expedia also announced $3.2 billion in new investment. Funds managed by Apollo Global Management and Silver Lake will provide $1.2 billion in equity investment in the form of perpetual preferred stock. Another $2 billion of new debt financing will also be sold to investors. The cash infusion is intended to get the company through the current travel downturn and help it emerge as a stronger company.
Now what
No one, including Expedia's management, knows how long the current downturn in travel will last, so companies are just trying to shore up their balance sheets to survive. A $3.2 billion infusion of cash should be enough to both survive as well as invest in new capabilities that will drive long-term growth. That's why investors are pushing the stock higher today.
