The CarTrawler leadership team and its owner TowerBrook Capital Partners met at Dublin headquarters last week with Expedia Group and investment bank Evercore, according to an industry source aware of the meeting.
CarTrawler, which is privately held, is a B2B provider of car rentals, other ground transportation, and insurtech to more than 300 travel brands in 150+ countries.
A deal with CarTrawler would help address the weakness in Expedia’s car-rental business for partners. Unlike hotels, where Expedia B2B is strong, car rentals are a highly consolidated, complex business with stiff competition from car-rental brand websites.
Expedia and CarTrawler have been partners for years. A deal would help Expedia’s B2B arm bundle lodging, airport transfers, rides, and insurance offers in a one-stop shop for Expedia’s airline, travel agency, financial institution, and loyalty program partners.
A total acquisition of CarTrawler could see the company valued in the $450-$550 million range, based on comments that CEO Peter O’Donovan made in August about its nine months of financial results through June 2025. Adjusted EBITDA was tracking at $31-$33 million for the full year based on his figures.
CarTrawler, which didn’t comment for this story, saw its adjusted EBITDA increase 20% year over year in fiscal year 2025.
If a deal isn’t a 100% acquisition, it could potentially follow Expedia’s pattern with hotel metasearch company Trivago, where Expedia took and held a majority stake beginning in 2012 and kept it. Expedia might choose instead to be a minority investor in CarTrawler.
Link: https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/expedia-cartrawler-may-close-deal-061800473.html