Accommodation rental specialist giant HomeAway has moved quickly to deny suggestions that it will list on the public markets.
Expedia chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi told a conference in San Francisco yesterday that he expected the venture-backed company to go to the financial markets in 2010 or 2011.
The well-timed and very public statement came out of the blue in terms of adding a new name to the list of those travel and technology outfits expected to launch IPOs this year.
Nevertheless, HomeAway hit back quickly today with a short statement following Khosrowshahi’s comments.
An official says:
“We are extremely pleased with the success we have experienced to date, but there are no plans for an IPO at this moment in time.â€
Those with a keen eye for language and sentence formation will note the “at this moment in time” element to the statement. The statement also refers to an IPO, rather than simply “going public”.
Khosrowshahi’s prediction may have been aimed at HomeAway for wider reasons – to draw attention to the company’s structure and financial position amid ongoing speculation that one of the big OTAs will take a look at some of the bigger players in the accommodation rental sector later this year in order to tap into the growing marketplace.
This certainly would explain the Super Bowl ad and campaign coming at this time.
As both a travel industry marketing veteran and a owner of a rental property listed on HomeAway among several vacation rental sites I really wondered why they would spend the dollars for a single shot at the Super Bowl. So many marketing case studies have shown that its been a waste of money from a marketing perspective.
But if the objective is an IPO it makes a lot more business sense.
Your assertion the Super Bowl ad was a waste of money is incorrect. The company had a large scale launch objective and the ad generated brand awareness that was valued many times over the capital outlay.
They are going for an IPO big time.
They have replied quickly and with wrong terminology, which only means some sort of panic and something to hide.
Surely they will have to go for it now they have attention. Sooner is better specially if Expedia is going to muscle in the market.
Their shares without competitors and with a competitor on their tail will have very different value.
Good to see some sparkle in 2010!
This dismiss is a mess. They are going public soon then.
And who mentioned IPO? Them!
You are right Kristin, the Superbowl ad was not productive in the sense of expense vs. return in immediate return. But don’t think small sided. This company is poised for super human growth in the”supposed worst times in economic history since 1929″ and that is documented over and over and over by byouts, takeovers and soforth. If there is anything, (company) I will put money into now, it is this one. Think about it, what company has multiplied, propspered and still gained market share all along??? No Blue chip I know of. My pick? Duh..