Liberty Tripadvisor secures $325M investment, plans to repay existing margin loan

Liberty Tripadvisor Holdings has landed a $325 million investment from Certares Management, which is expected to close within 10 business days.

As part of the deal, Certares will receive 8% Series A cumulative redeemable preferred stock.

According to the Form 8-K filing, the stock carries a purchase price of $1,000 per share.

The Englewood, Colorado-based company, which is the controlling shareholder of Tripadvisor, will combine the net proceeds from the investment with $34 million of secured borrowings to repay its total outstanding balance of an existing margin loan.

Greg Maffei, Liberty Tripadvisor president and CEO, says this investment “secures long-term financing, which is not tied to stock price movements in this volatile environment.”

New York-based Certares has been very active in travel, with previous deals backing American Express Global Business Travel, Travel Leaders Group and Nirvana Travel and Tourism.

The deals allow for Greg O’Hara, Certares founder and senior managing director, to join the Liberty Tripadvisor board.

“Liberty Tripadvisor is a natural fit for Certares,” says O’Hara. “We seek leaders in our sectors and look forward to deeper involvement with Liberty TripAdvisor and TripAdvisor, the world’s largest online travel community.”

Maffei adds: “Certares has deep experience and a highly successful track record investing in the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors, and we will greatly benefit from Greg’s insight on our board.”