The CarTrawler leadership team and its owner TowerBrook Capital Partners met at Dublin headquarters last week with Expedia Group and Evercore, one of the banks involved in discussions between the two companies, according to an industry source aware of the meeting.
Expedia has an “important” announcement scheduled for Monday morning, although it’s possible it is unrelated to CarTrawler. Privately held and strong in airline partnership relationships, CarTrawler is B2B provider of car rentals, other ground transportation, and insurtech to more than 300 travel brands in 150+ countries.
A deal with CarTrawler, whether it would be a an outright acquisition, an investment or partnership, would help address the weakness in Expedia’s car rental business for partners. Expedia B2B is strong in its hotel business, but car rentals are a highly consolidated business, there is stiff competition from car rental websites, and car rentals are a complex booking and business.