PEGASUS has agreed to acquire REZsolutions in a deal valued at $250m in cash, stock and debt.
The purchase will create a company with $180m in annual revenue that offers reservation and processing services for hotels and agents.
The REZsolutions name will disappear but its president and chief executive officer Mac Highet will become chief operating officer at Pegasus.
Pegasus operates a Web-based hotel booking service at www.travelweb.com and powers other Internet booking sites. It also offers global distribution system connections to hotels and operates hotel commission processing and data services. REZsolutions was formed in 1997 through the combination of Utell, a hotel marketing and reservations firm, and Anasazi, a specialist in hotel reservations systems.
Utell had been a wholly owned subsidiary of Reed Elsevier, Travel Weekly’s parent. Reed Elsevier will hold a stake of around 10% in Pegasus. Meanwhile, Reed Elsevier is suing Microsoft and its on-line travel agency Expedia, alleging breach of contract in connection with the hotel directory services provided to Expedia by Cahners Travel Group. Cahners is owned by Reed Elsevier.
The suit, filed in the US District Court in New Jersey, alleges that Microsoft and Expedia violated Cahners’ exclusive right to provide hotel directory advertising sales support worldwide for the Expedia Web site. Reed Elsevier is seeking unspecified damages and the termination of the agreement.