Ctrip snaps up corporate travel pioneer

Ctrip.com, a Shanghai-based online travel services provider, has acquired traditional agency Beijing Modern Express Corporate Travel Service, making the combined entity among the largest in a highly fragmented market.

Ctrip.com president Neil Shen said the acquisition would double ctrip.com's monthly business volume to about 30,000 hotel room-nights, making it the largest corporate agency in China by that ranking criteria.

He declined to give financial details of the deal, saying only that it involved both cash and the issuance of new ctrip.com shares.

The deal follows similar acquisitions by online companies of old-economy operations, making them so-called click-and-mortar businesses, which are considered more competitive in the long term than pure dotcom or traditional operations.

After the acquisition, ctrip.com would have a share of about 3 per cent of the agency market, which accounted for an estimated 10 to 20 per cent of China's 11 million to 12 million room-night per month hotel market, Mr Shen said.

The remaining 80 to 90 per cent represents direct sales by the hotels.

'Our volume is about twice that of the second-largest agency, Smart Travel,' Mr Shen said.