Do you have a travel website? Why not sell it to Cendant (NYSE:CD)? It seems the company wants to buy anything related to online travel.
Cendant is the product of aggressive mergers and acquisitions. A big part of the company includes traditional travel brands, such as in car rentals (Avis, Budget, and First Fleet) and lodging (like Days Inn, Howard Johnson, and Travelodge).
Cendant has a division called travel distribution services, which focuses on "travel-related services that facilitate information sharing and transaction processing within the industry." Lately, this has been the most active division of the company in terms of deal making.
In September, Cendant shelled out $1.25 billion in cash to buy Orbitz. Building an online travel agency proved too difficult against major players like InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:IACI) and Sabre (NYSE:TSG). With its deal, Cendant got the third-largest online travel agency, with deep relationships with AMR (NYSE:AMR), UAL (NYSE:UAL), Northwest Airlines, Continental, and Delta (NYSE:DAL).
Then in early December, Cendant spent $329.6 million in cash for eBookers plc, a U.K. travel site. This was a move to expand Cendant's existing presence in Europe.
And, this week, Cendant used its checkbook yet again to buy Gullivers Travel Associates and Octopus.com for a combined $1.1 billion in cash. This will provide penetration in Asia, with a focus on Japan, Hong Kong, and China.
The recent spate of deals has been pricey. Then again, foreign markets are poised for more growth and are still fragmented. In fact, now on a global basis, Cendant has a model that makes it an "intermediary to execute ... an 'order maker/order taker' strategy..." The deals will also allow for extensive cross-selling opportunities for lodging, car rentals, and other travel services.
Cendant realized that the travel market has been forever changed by the Internet. And, within a few months, it has positioned itself as a leader in the space. Now, of course, the challenge will be to integrate the pieces -- no easy feat in the tech markets.
Fool contributor Tom Taulli does not own shares in the companies mentioned in this article.
