Wotif.com rejects bids, plans offer

SYDNEY - Wotif.com, an accommodation website, will go ahead with an initial public offering in June to return funds to its owners after rejecting takeover offers for the company.

Wotif will sell about 40 per cent of the company to investors in Australia, chief executive Graeme Wood said. Documents for the share sale will be released this month.

Wood declined to say how much he plans to raise, and would not comment on speculation the company may be valued at A$500 million ($591 million).

Wood said he had "chats with all the major media owners" and received takeover offers, but "the company has a great future as a stand-alone entity" and is focused on the IPO.

Media companies, including Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and Publishing & Broadcasting, are shopping for internet assets amid slowing advertising growth in newspapers and television.

Brisbane-based Wotif held talks with Publishing & Broadcasting and Telstra's advertising unit Sensis, the Australian newspaper reported in October.

Wotif helps travellers find vacant rooms at last-minute, discount rates. It earns booking fees on reservations.

The site processed about 36 per cent of the nation's online bookings last year, more than the combined bookings of rival sites such as Flight Centre's quickbeds.com and Qantas Airways' ReadyRooms.com.au, Wood said.

Wood rejected takeover offers because none of the suitors had large international operations that could help the company expand offshore. He declined to say who the bidders were.

Wotif, founded in 2000, had earnings before interest and tax of A$16.9 million on sales of A$250 million in the year ended June 30, 2005. It will boost sales by at least 30 per cent this year as online bookings increases, Wood said.

The company has offices in Brisbane, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and Britain.

It is owned by its four original board members including Wood, who will cut their individual stakes with the share sale to between just under 5 per cent and 25 per cent.

Unitab chief executive Dick McIlwain, who retires from the wagering company in October, joined Wotif as chairman this week.

Macquarie Bank, Australia's biggest investment bank, and ABN Amro will manage the share sale.

- BLOOMBERG