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The
department said it did not require any asset sales in exchange
for antitrust approval.
"We concluded that Expedia’s acquisition of Orbitz is not likely
to substantially lessen competition or harm U.S. consumers,"
Bill Baer, head of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division,
said in a statement.
The Justice Department announced its decision after the stock
market closed, but expectation that the deal would be approved
pushed Expedia's share price from about $119 a share to more
than $125 a share in the late afternoon. It traded at $124.68 in
after-hours trading.
Orbitz's share price rose from about $11.25 to about $11.90
during regular trading and was at $12 after the regular close.
Expedia, which owns the website that bears its name as well as
Hotels.com, Hotwire and other brands, also recently purchased
Travelocity. Its rival Priceline Group Inc owns Booking.com,
OpenTable and Kayak.
Expedia spokeswoman Sarah Gavin said that the company was
"pleased" to win Justice Department approval. She did not say
when the deal would close.
Expedia and Priceline face increasing competition from the likes
of Google Inc, airlines and hotel chains, which also sell
itineraries on their websites.
Baer said that during a six-month investigation, the Antitrust
Division found no evidence that consumers would face higher
charges if the two booking companies merged. They also found
that hotels, car rental companies and airlines were unlikely to
be harmed.
"The Antitrust Division investigated the concerns that have been
expressed about this transaction," said Baer. "At the end of
this process, however, we concluded that the acquisition is
unlikely to harm competition and consumers."
(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Will Dunham and Cynthia
Osterman)
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