(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors) Priceline Group () a travel websites operator will invest an additional $250 million in Chinese online travel company Ctrip.com International (NASDAQ:CTRP) to tap the fast-growing China market.
Shanghai-based Ctrip will issue convertible bonds to Priceline for the investment the companies said in a statement today.
Priceline which invested $500 million in Ctrip last summer said its stake in the Chinese company would rise to about 15 percent after the conversion of the total bonds issued for the two investments.
Ctrip's shares dipped 4.1 percent to $81.18 at 2:23 p.m. in New York erasing an earlier gain while Priceline shares skidded 0.9 percent at $1197.58.
Ctrip continues to be a very important partner for The Priceline Group in China and we look forward to continuing to build upon that partnership” Priceline chief executive officer Darren Huston said in the statement.
“We consider Ctrip a market leader in China and we’re investing in a company and a team that we believe fits well with our long-term view of China as a market and the Chinese people as global travelers.”
The Chinese company said last week that it bought a 37.6 percent stake in rival eLong (NASDAQ:LONG) for about $400 million from ().
The two companies promote hotel packages on each other's websites. Under the existing commercial partnership Priceline’s Booking.com hotel-booking site advertises Ctrip’s inventory of hotels in China. Ctrip meanwhile is able to offer its users a wider array of deals from Priceline’s platforms including Booking.com Agoda.com for smaller hotels OpenTable for restaurants and rentalcars.com. The companies on Tuesday said they would continue cross-promotion between brands.
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