Sabre Holdings Bought in Five Billion Dollar Deal

Sabre Holdings was bought out last month by two private equity groups, Silver Lake Partners and Texas Pacific Group (TPG) for $32.75 per share in cash.

The value of the deal is about five billion dollars, and includes the assumption of net debt of almost 550 million dollars. The sale price is 30 percent over the Sabre Holdings average closing share price during the 60 trading days ending on December 8, 2006.

“After a thorough assessment, we concluded that this transaction represents a compelling outcome for our shareholders, customers and employees,” said Sam Gilliland, Chairman and CEO of Sabre Holdings.

Greg Mondre, a managing director of Silver Lake Partners said, “Sabre has a remarkable track record of pioneering and delivering best-in-class technology solutions for the global travel industry. We look forward to working with Sabre’s talented management team as they continue to deploy technology as a source of competitive advantage and value-add for customers.”

“We are excited by the opportunity to invest in Sabre given its leadership position in travel technology and distribution and the strength of Travelocity and its other leading online brands,” said TPG Partner, Karl Peterson.

Sabre Holdings connects people with the world’s greatest travel possibilities by retailing travel products and providing distribution and technology solutions for the travel industry. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, the company has approximately 9,000 employees in 45 countries.