DALLAS - Sabre Holdings Corp. said Tuesday it would offer $34.5 million for the shares leading travel Web site Travelocity.com that it doesn't already own.<br>
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Sabre's offer of $23 per share represents a 19.8 percent premium over Travelocity's closing stock price on Friday.<br>
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Sabre, the leading computerized travel-reservation system, owns about 70 percent of Travelocity but holds only about 15 percent of its voting power.<br>
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Sabre said the tender offer would begin on March 5 or soon after.<br>
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It said the offer hinged on gaining at least 90 percent of Travelocity's shares. Sabre said the offer was not conditioned on financing but said it might issue stock or sell stock-related securities to raise capital.<br>
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Travelocity was formed in 2000 when Sabre's travel-reservation Web site merged with Preview Travel. It is now the leading travel Web site, offering reservations for most airlines, more than 50,000 hotels, car-rental companies and travel packages.<br>
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Fort Worth-based Travelocity lost $47 million on sales of $193 million last year.<br>
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Sabre said the purchase of Travelocity would not affect its earnings this year. Sabre, based in Southlake, said it doesn't plan to change Travelocity's management, strategy or brand.<br>
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Sabre, with 5,500 employees, reported sales last year of $2.1 billion. It reported profit of $31 million.<br>
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The company began as American Airlines' reservation system, then was spun off into a separate company that provides marketing and other services to the broader travel industry. <br>
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