It's a May wedding for two prominent operators in the online travel space. Priceline.com (BKNG -0.47%) is now the owner of Kayak (NASDAQ: KYAK), which will function as an independent brand within the parent firm. Priceline.com paid roughly $522.4 million in cash and 1.5 million-plus shares of stock for the ticketing site, in addition to the assumption of outstanding Kayak stock options.
Executives from both companies professed delight at the merger. In the press release announcing the development, Priceline.com quoted Kayak CEO and co-founder Steve Hafner as saying that "we believe that The Priceline Group's expertise and worldwide reach will help us expand our business globally."
The acquisition was first announced at the end of last year.
