Tripadvisor Inc (NASDAQ:TRIP), the review website, saw shares rally around 13% on Tuesday after reports revealed it was considering a possible sale.
A special committee has been formed at the online travel agency to analyse proposals, some of which are believed could result in a sale.
CenterView Partners, the private investment bank, will be the committee’s financial advisor, while also looking into Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings’ decision to evaluate potential alternatives.
Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings owns around a 21% stake in the US-listed company and was created when former owner Liberty Interactive spun off Tripadvisor.
"Liberty TripAdvisor is heavily indebted with a market cap of $89 million vs debt of $2.75 billion, [it] likely would need to tap Tripadvisor's balance sheet in some way to repay this debt," Bernstein analyst Richard Clarke wrote in a note.
Shares in Tripadvisor are trading at a 1 year high on Tuesday at around US$25.