Expedia is buying Orbitz

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Expedia Headquarters

AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

Expedia analytics team workers chat in an alcove at Expedia's Bellevue, Wash. office.

Online travel services company Expedia is buying competitor Orbitz.

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Expedia will pay $12 per share for Orbitz.

Orbitz closed at $9.62 on Wednesday, and shares are surging 24% in premarket trading.

"We are attracted to the Orbitz Worldwide business because of its strong brands and impressive team," Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said. "This acquisition will allow us to deliver best-in-class experiences to an even wider set of travelers all over the world."

Expedia is the parent of a big portfolio of brands including Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, Travelocity.com, and CarRentals.com.

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"Our mission at Orbitz Worldwide has been to build our brands to be the world's most rewarding places to plan and purchase travel," Orbitz CEO Barney Harford said. "We're excited for Orbitz Worldwide to join the Expedia, Inc. family and for our teams to work together to further enhance the offerings we provide to our customers and partners."

As of Wednesday, Expedia had a market cap of $9.9 billion. Orbitz Worldwide was worth just over $1 billion.