MURDOCH’S NEWS LTD IN AUSTRALIA BUYS SINGAPORE’S BEZURK TRAVEL SITE
January 15th 2008 10:56
Australia’s News Ltd has entered the booming online travel market by buying a slice of Singapore-based comparison site Bezurk.com for a reported “millions of dollars.”
News Ltd’s flagship newspaper The Australian reported the media group's New Digital Media) division is understood to have beaten Microsoft's MSN group and Yahoo to a stake in Bezurk, whose owners were understood to be seeking a valuation of $US20million (A$22.36 million).
Bezurk chief executive Martin Symes said the investment was in the "millions of dollars" and represented a significant minority stake.
"The focus has been on building the product and getting content," said Bezurk chief Martin Symes, who worked with Hewett at Zuji.
The deal comes less than a month after the number one o1 travel metasearch site in the US, Kayak, bought its closest rival, Sidestep, for $US196 million.
News will promote Bezurk on its websites, linked in with its travel editorial sites.
Nielsen Net Ratings shows that, in December, News's travel site had 230,853 unique browsers, compared with 274,384 for ninemsn and a combined figure of 859,920 for Fairfax's The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Fairfax also had 292,698 for its Stayz rental accommodation site.
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