Travelocity battles takeover bid

NEWS Travel software specialist Sabre is forging ahead with its takeover of Travelocity, despite an outright rejection of the deal by Travelocity's board of directors. Travelocity yesterday turned down the takeover terms, calling Sabre's $23 per share offer 'inadequate' and 'opportunistic'. The company has filed 11 lawsuits to block the bid. Sabre declined to comment on the Travelocity rejection, but in a statement released today it said the merger process would continue and was not dependent on approval from Travelocity's board of directors. Sabre already holds a 70 per cent stake in Travelocity, and last month announced its intention to purchase all outstanding common stock in a $345m cash deal. Travelocity officials yesterday said the offer would "constitute an opportunistic attempt to acquire Travelocity at a time when its stock price is temporarily depressed," adding that the deal did not reflect Travelocity's long term value. Sabre today said the $23 offer price represented a 19.8 per cent increase over Travelocity's closing price of $19.20 on February 15, the last trading day before Sabre announced its takeover plans. Once the merger is completed Travelocity will become a wholly-owned Sabre company. Sabre said it had no plans to change the management team or business strategy.