Expedia Corporate Travel (ECT) has expanded its presence in Europe with the acquisition of the German agency MTM Reisen.
Founded in 1983 by Helmut Rainalter and based in Munich, Reisen has, according to Expedia president and ceo Dara Khosrowshahi, "11m in annual gross bookings."
The American online agency, based in Bellevue, Washington, already has a presence in three other European countries, France, Belgium and the UK.
Reisen built up its reputation as the major consolidator in southern Germany but has developed, said ECT, into a "full service corporate travel provider."
Full details of the acquisition have not been revealed but ECT said the majority of Reisen's employees including Mr Rainalter would join Expedia.
ECT said Reisen was a "strong base to jump start" its growth in Germany.
Mr Rainalter described ECT as a "perfect fit enabling MTM Reisen to offer clients leading online booking and reporting tools as well as global corporate travel support."
ECT, founded in 2002 and one of the major online agencies in the world, acquired the French online agency Egencia which had offices in Paris and Brussels in 2004.
The following year it bought the UK medium-sized agency World Travel Management which is based in London.
CAA de-regulates long haul fares
The UK Civil Aviation Authority is to stop regulating long haul fares out of Britain for the first time in more than 30 years.
The Authority cited "greater competition" in the airline market for its move.
First fares to be unshackled will be those from the UK to destinations other than the US. This is due to start on December 1.
The second stage will be the de-regulation of fares from the UK to the US.
The CAA said this would deferred until "other pricing restrictions in the UK-USA market are removed."
Explaining what it called an "historic" decision, the Authority said that the airline market was now being gradually liberalised, fares were cheaper and more widely available, there was more competition and there was greater transparency because of the Internet.
Dr Harry Bush, CAA's group director of economic regulation, said: "Airline competition has now reached the point where it is simply no longer appropriate for a regulator to dictate fare levels."
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