Expedia chairman Barry Diller told CNBC on Monday that a rumored acquisition of Uber is “just not going to happen.”
A report from the Financial Times last month revealed that Uber had explored a potential bid for Seattle-based travel giant Expedia Group. Uber approached advisers in recent months about a deal and its interest was at a very early stage, according to the report.
Diller said an Uber-Expedia tie-up would make sense as “an industrial combination” but was adamant Monday that a deal isn’t getting done.
The rumored deal was notable in part because Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was Expedia Group’s CEO from 2005 to 2017, and remains on the board.
Asked if Expedia will merge or get acquired by another entity, Diller said he didn’t think so.
“Expedia is now beginning a period, I think, of real growth,” said Diller, the media mogul who is also chairman of IAC. He said the company has “now got a great leader who is doing every right thing,” likely alluding to CEO Ariane Gorin, who started in her new role earlier this year.
“If ever there’s a wrong time for Expedia to actually exchange its shares, it is now,” Diller said.
He added: “I don’t think Expedia should be sold. And I have enough voting shares that … I could stop something from being done.”
Expedia reported $3.6 billion in revenue for the second quarter, up 6% year-over-year. Its market capitalization is around $20 billion and its stock is up more than 40% over the past 12 months.
Expedia reports third quarter earnings on Thursday.
Diller was also asked about Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his decision to end The Washington Post’s tradition of endorsing candidates for president and reportedly spiking an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Diller, who said he knows Bezos “very well,” called the decision “absolutely principled” but said it was timed poorly.
“They made a blunder,” he said. “It should have happened months before.”
Bezos, who owns the newspaper, was under intense backlash following the announcement, which came just 11 days before the election between Harris and former President Donald Trump.
In a column in the Post published last week, Bezos said he wished the decision to not endorse any candidate had been made sooner, “in a moment further from the election and the emotions around it.” And he said the timing of a recent meeting between Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp and Trump was scheduled without Bezos’ knowledge.
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