Investors in online restaurant reservation and review sites fattened up on Friday after Priceline announced a deal to buy San Francisco-based OpenTable for $2.6 billion — a 46 percent premium over OpenTable’s closing price on Thursday.
News of the deal sent other local-business Internet stocks higher.
Specialty search platform Yelp shares gained 13.8 percent to $74.92 on the expectation that Priceline’s travel reservation rivals would need to bulk up in the restaurant sector to compete.
And GrubHub, the 10-year-old Chicago company that allows users to order food from nearby restaurants, saw its shares jump 7 percent to $36.
Groupon benefited as well, closing up 3.9 percent to $6.24, while LiveDeal managed a 2.9 percent gain to $3.91.
“Travelers are diners,” Priceline CEO and President Darren Huston said in a conference call announcing the deal. “It’s the same customers. There’s opportunity to cross-promote brands.”
Priceline, made famous by pitchman William Shatner, will pay $103 per share of OpenTable, which flew to the moon on Friday, soaring 48.4 percent to $104.48 — above the offered price.
More than 15 million users use OpenTable on their desktops or mobile devices each month to book free dining reservations at more than 31,000 restaurants.
The company, which also lists reviews and menus on its site and apps, makes money by charging restaurants for the bookings.
Shares of Priceline, up 49 percent over the past year, fell 2.99 percent on news of the deal to $1,189.30.