News and Views from Scotland
Skyscanner Bought By Chinese Giant
Skyscanner
The sale of Skyscanner to a Chinese company for $1.7 million came as a shock to Scottish business, which had seen the Edinburgh based travel website as a model for other Scots entrepreneurs.Skyscanner, which is based in Edinburgh , is a travel price-checking website, which was founded in 2003 by Gareth Williams and two friends. The three founders are now set to share in proceeds estimated at around £400m.
CEO Gareth Williams has stated that none of the 500 staff in the UK will lose their jobs and that the takeover will not affect growth plans .
Skyscanner's current management team will continue to be in charge of its operations independently after the completion of the deal.
Nasdaq-listed Ctrip, partly owned by the Chinese search company Baidu, provides online booking for airline and railway tickets as well as hotels and describes itself as China's largest travel company. It generated more than 350bn yuan (£41bn) of online sales in 2015, according to the company website.
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January 2017Return to News and Views Index
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