Item 1.01Item 1.01 - Entry into Material Agreement
Item 1.01. Entry Into a Definitive Material Agreement.
As previously disclosed, on June 14, 2026, Tripadvisor, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the “Company”), entered into a put option agreement (the “Put Option Agreement”) with American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc., a New York corporation (“Buyer”), pursuant to which Buyer provided an irrevocable commitment to acquire (the “Put Option”) the legal entities comprising the Company’s online restaurant reservation and management platform in Europe known as “TheFork” (the “Business”), pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth in the Equity Purchase Agreement attached to the Put Option Agreement (the “Equity Purchase Agreement”).
Pursuant to the Put Option Agreement and in accordance with applicable French labor laws, the Company and Buyer could not execute the Equity Purchase Agreement until the mandatory employee information and consultation process with the relevant French Works Council was completed (the “Consultation Process”). On July 30, 2026, the Consultation Process was completed. On August 1, 2026, the Company delivered notice of exercise of the Put Option and, thereafter, on August 2, 2026, the parties executed the Equity Purchase Agreement.
Under the terms of the Equity Purchase Agreement, Buyer will acquire the Business for $700 million, subject to certain adjustments, in an all-cash transaction (the “Transaction”). The purchase price will be paid by Buyer with cash on hand. The Equity Purchase Agreement contains customary representations, warranties, and covenants of the parties, including an interim operating covenant requiring the Company to conduct the Business in the ordinary course consistent with past practice prior to closing. The Equity Purchase Agreement provides that following its execution, consummation of the Transaction will be subject to the receipt of required regulatory approvals, including antitrust clearances in applicable European jurisdictions, and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is currently expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
Pursuant to the Equity Purchase Agreement, the Company has agreed to an exclusivity undertaking extending until the closing of the Transaction, under which the Company and certain of its subsidiaries shall not, and shall instruct their respective representatives not to, solicit, facilitate, initiate, or knowingly encourage alternative acquisition proposals from third parties regarding the Business. Furthermore, if the Equity Purchase Agreement is validly terminated due to a failure to clear applicable regulatory or antitrust hurdles and all other closing conditions are satisfied, Buyer will be obligated to pay the Company a cash reverse termination fee in an amount equal to $35,000,000.
The foregoing description of the Equity Purchase Agreement and the Transaction contemplated thereby does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Equity Purchase Agreement, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 10.1 hereto and is incorporated herein by reference.
Cautions Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements included in this Current Report on Form 8-K constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties on information available to the Company as of the date hereof. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the proposed sale of the Company's Business to Buyer, the anticipated benefits, related agreements, timing of the transaction and potential uses of proceeds. All statements other than statements of historical fact are "forward-looking statements" for purposes of federal and state securities laws. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases such as "possible," "potential," "intends" or "expects" or other words or phrases of similar import or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "may," "might," "should," "would," "could," or similar variations.
These forward-looking statements involve many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and the timing of events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including, but not limited to: the parties may not realize the potential benefits of the Transaction in the near term or at all; the Transaction or sale of the Business may not be achieved on the predicted timeline or at all; there may be liabilities or tax consequences related to the divestiture that are not known, probable or estimable at this time; unfavorable outcome of regulatory review or antitrust proceedings in European jurisdictions; difficulties or unexpected costs relating to segregating the technology and data platforms of the Business from retained operations; the failure to satisfy any other closing conditions; risks related to disruption of management time away from core operations; risks relating to the Company operating without TheFork platform; risks inherent to the business may result in additional strategic and operational risks, which may impact the Company's risk profile, which the Company may not be able to mitigate effectively; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in periodic reports that the Company files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Additional information concerning important risks and uncertainties can be found in the Company's filings with the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.