Expedia to Buy Trivago for $632 Million

Expedia Inc. (EXPE) agreed to buy a majority stake in travel metasearch engine trivago for about EUR 477 million, expanding the Internet travel agent’s exposure in Europe.

The deal also increases consolidation in Expedia’s market following priceline.com Inc.’s (PCLN) $1.8 billion purchase agreement for travel metasearch company Kayak Software Corp. (KYAK) last month.

Expedia will acquire 61.6% of trivago for about EUR477 million, or roughly $632 million–including EUR434 million in cash and EUR43 million in Expedia stock.

Founded seven years ago, trivago grew into one of the largest travel sites in Europe and now conducts more than 100 million hotel searches annually, Expedia said. The company is expected to deliver about EUR100 million in revenue for 2012.