Orbitz, the Chicago-based travel website owned by
several large US airlines, expects to raise about $82.2m in an
initial public offering.
The company plans will sell four million shares at between $22
and $24 apiece,and stockholders will sell an additional seven
million shares at the same price. No date has been set for the
IPO.
Orbitz has applied for quotation of its stock on the Nasdaq
stock market. Proceeds from the offering would be used for working
capital and general corporate purposes. Orbitz will not receive any
of the proceeds from the sale of the shares by its
stockholders.
Orbitz was started in 2000 with money from Continental Airlines,
Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Northwest Airlines and American
Airlines. The travel site went online in June 2001 and now claims
to be the third largest based on travel bookings. Its chief rivals
are Expedia and Travelocity.com.
Since its launch, more than 22 million transactions have been
completed through the Orbitz site. In the quarter ending 30
September, Orbitz had net income of $3.9m on revenue of $64.4m.
Joris Evers writes for IDG News Service