Processing timeline
1
days
Filed
20 July 2026
Decision Due
31 Aug 2026
Est decision date: 22 Aug 2026. Based on 40 decided Professional & Business Services notifications.
Acquirer(s)
Expedia Group, Inc. I.R.S. Employer Identification No.-20-2705720, Expedia Group International Holdings II, LLC Delaware Secretary of State-7172515 I.R.S Employer Identification No.-83-2737894
Target(s) or Vendor(s)
Ballast Group Holdings Ltd 018092V
Other parties
trivago NV 67222927, Stayz Pty Limited
Expedia Group, Inc. proposes to acquire Ballast Group Holdings Ltd (CarTrawler) via a share acquisition. This combines Expedia's online travel agency and B2B travel distribution services with CarTrawler's global B2B car rental and ground transportation distribution solutions, including its B2C car rental brands.
Expedia Group, Inc. ( Expedia ) proposes to acquire the entire issued share capital of Ballast Group Holdings Ltd (trading as CarTrawler ). Expedia operates online travel agency ( OTA ) brands, including Expedia.com, Hotels.com, and Vrbo, and is the majority owner of trivago, which is principally a hotel meta-search site. Expedia is primarily active in the supply of online booking intermediation services on a standalone and package basis for hotel rooms, flights, car rental, activities and experiences, cruises and alternative accommodations to consumers. In addition to its consumer-facing ( B2C ) operations, Expedia also provides business-to business ( B2B ) intermediation distribution solutions, which enable a wide range of travel and non-travel partners (including airlines, offline travel agents, online retailers, corporate travel management, financial institutions, and other distributors of travel booking services) to utilise Expedia's technology to access and distribute travel products, including car rental services. CarTrawler is a global provider of distribution solutions for car rental, ground transportation and travel-related insurance . CarTrawler primarily offers B2B solutions that enable third-party travel partners, such as airlines, OTAs, tour operators and other travel distributors, to offer car rental services through their own B2C customer interfaces. CarTrawler's "Connect" platform is a proprietary B2B technology platform that supports end to-end booking, availability and pricing aggregation, payments, and ancillary travel insurance products. The platform is integrated into partners' existing booking flows via API, allowing its business customers (e.g. airlines, OTAs, etc.) to offer car rental products to end consumers. CarTrawler also operates two B2C brands, Holiday Autos and Angus Car Hire, which both supply online car rental comparison and reservation services.
The ACCC has prepared a questionnaire on the Acquisition. Submissions or information in response to the questionnaire should be provided by 28 July 2026 via email to mergers@accc.gov.au with the title Submission re: Expedia – CarTrawler . The ACCC’s ability to give detailed consideration to submissions received after this time may be limited.