Expedia to acquire HomeAway (AWAY) for $3.9B

• Expedia (EXPE) is buying HomeAway (AWAY) for $3.9 billion. in cash and stock. The move will make it easier for customers to access listings of private rooms, apartments, and homes for rent if they’re looking for an alternative to traditional hotel rooms on vacation.

BELLEVUE, Wash. and AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Expedia, Inc., (NASDAQ: EXPE) and HomeAway, Inc., (NASDAQ: AWAY) announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Expedia has agreed to acquire HomeAway, including all of its brands, for an equity value of approximately $3.9 billion in cash and Expedia common stock, representing a per share price for HomeAway shares of $38.31, based on Expedia's closing price on November 3, 2015. Under the terms of the transaction, Expedia will offer to acquire each outstanding share of common stock of HomeAway in exchange for $10.15 in cash and 0.2065 of a share of Expedia common stock.

HomeAway says revenues up 41%

HomeAway Inc., Austin's newest public company, reported second quarter revenue growth of 41 percent Wednesday and said it will continue to add jobs in Austin.

In the first earnings report since its IPO last month, the company said that revenue was $58.7 million during the three-month period that ended June 30. That compares with $41.6 million for the same quarter a year earlier.

"It was a great quarter on all fronts, including fantastic revenue growth," CEO Brian Sharples said. "As long as we've got top-line growth, we're going to continue to add people, and we are going to be expanding significantly in Austin."

The company, which is the biggest player in the online vacation rental industry, has 908 employees, including 421 in Austin.

According to the job listing site Indeed.com, HomeAway is recruiting Austin developers, business analysts and technical support specialists, among other positions.

Sharples said HomeAway has leased a new facility in addition to its downtown headquarters on West Fifth Street to accommodate its rapidly growing workforce.

"This all means great stuff for the Austin economy and the Austin job market," Sharples said.

Additional details will be announced next week, a spokeswoman said.

HomeAway raised $149 million in its initial public offering. The company's stock began trading June 29 on the Nasdaq exchange, with an opening price of $27 per share. The stock price jumped about 50 percent the first day, closing at just above $40 per share. Its shares trade under the symbol "AWAY."

HomeAway has a $3.41 billion valuation.

Founded in 2005, HomeAway owns more than 30 websites, including HomeAway.com, VRBO.com and VacationRentals.com., which list more than 625,000 vacation home rentals in 145 countries.

HomeAway was the Austin area's third company to have an IPO this year. Freescale Semiconductor Holdings raised $783 million, and San Marcos-based Thermon Group Holdings raised $120 million in May offerings.

Last week, Austin-based WhiteGlove Health Inc. began its initial public offering, which is using a "Dutch auction" method. The approach skips investment bankers and lets people make direct bids for the shares.

WhiteGlove plans to sell 2.5 million shares of stock in the IPO at between $9 and $13 a share, according to securities filings. It estimates its net proceeds could be $23.8 million.

The company has declined to comment on when the IPO will be completed, but IPO tracking services have listed it to close this week.