Filed under: Deals

Shares of online travel service Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) were trading 7% higher early Thursday after rising 5% Wednesday on rumors the company could be taken private by its chairman, Barry Diller. Gains in today’s session, however, were tied to an upgrade in the stock by Stifel Nicolaus, rather than any further acquisition chatter, particularly after Diller himself denied the rumors and said the environment is poor for dealmaking.

“I am so suspect of current markets and the hedge funds and momentum selling/buying,” Diller said Wednesday at the Wall Street Journal’s D: All Things Digital conference, according to DealBook. “I think there is a plot behind everything.”

Stifel Nicolaus analyst George Askew upgraded Expedia to ‘buy,’ from ‘hold,’ with a $30 price target based on the company’s attractive valuation, successful advertising model, international growth, and expected stabilization in the economy and travel demand. He also addresses the buyout chatter, writing he does not find speculation of a management-led buyout “credible.” He contends that a management or private equity buyout of the $7 billion company would require considerable debt financing, which the current debt markets would not support.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 at 4:24 am and is filed under Engagements and Deals News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.