We're Moving to Close ITA Acquisition, Says Google
Back in the summer of 2010, in July to be more precise, we were reporting that Google wants to acquire ITA Software, company known for coming up with technically advanced solutions for organizing flight information. At the time Google announced that it entered a definitive agreement to acquire ITA Software for the sum of $700 million and that after the acquisition goes through, it will create new flight search tools that will help Google users more easily find useful flight information.
Erich Schmidt, former CEO of Google and current Executive Chairman of Google, said at the time: “ITA's very talented team has created an impressive product to organize flight information. Their technology opens exciting possibilities for us to create new ways for users to more easily find flight information online, and we're looking forward to welcoming them to Google.”
The news is that the acquisition of ITA Software is going along in the right direction. Google’s Senior VP of Commerce and Local, Jeff Huber, announced that the U.S. Department of Justice approved the acquisition of ITA Software and that Google is moving to close the acquisition of ITA Software as soon as possible. Once the acquisition is complete, the ITA Software team will be integrated with Google’s and work will begin on developing “exciting new flight search tools.”
“How cool would it be if you could type "flights to somewhere sunny for under $500 in May" into Google and get not just a set of links but also flight times, fares and a link to sites where you can actually buy tickets quickly and easily? Well that's exactly why we announced our intention to buy ITA Software,” commented Jeff Huber.
Jeff Huber added that Google is committed to honoring ITA Software’s existing contracts. ITA Software’s existing customers can extend their contracts into 2016 while new customers can license ITA’ software on “fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms” into 2016. Huber said that Google is committed to making ITA’s technology available to other travel sites as well.
Erich Schmidt, former CEO of Google and current Executive Chairman of Google, said at the time: “ITA's very talented team has created an impressive product to organize flight information. Their technology opens exciting possibilities for us to create new ways for users to more easily find flight information online, and we're looking forward to welcoming them to Google.”
The news is that the acquisition of ITA Software is going along in the right direction. Google’s Senior VP of Commerce and Local, Jeff Huber, announced that the U.S. Department of Justice approved the acquisition of ITA Software and that Google is moving to close the acquisition of ITA Software as soon as possible. Once the acquisition is complete, the ITA Software team will be integrated with Google’s and work will begin on developing “exciting new flight search tools.”
“How cool would it be if you could type "flights to somewhere sunny for under $500 in May" into Google and get not just a set of links but also flight times, fares and a link to sites where you can actually buy tickets quickly and easily? Well that's exactly why we announced our intention to buy ITA Software,” commented Jeff Huber.
Jeff Huber added that Google is committed to honoring ITA Software’s existing contracts. ITA Software’s existing customers can extend their contracts into 2016 while new customers can license ITA’ software on “fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms” into 2016. Huber said that Google is committed to making ITA’s technology available to other travel sites as well.
