Yahoo snaps up small travel firm

Yahoo has quietly purchased FareChase, a small online travel company, to help broaden its web search capabilities.

Yahoo purchased New York-based FareChase on 2 July for an undisclosed sum, company spokeswoman Nicki Dugan said late Friday. FareChase, founded in 1999, has 25 employees, the majority of which will relocate to Yahoo's headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif.

The internet giant has made it a priority to build the largest, most comprehensive internet search service to compete with market leader Google. With FareChase, which provides tools for consumers and travel agents to find information on hotels, cars and flights, Yahoo will be able to build more robust consumer travel services without tapping third parties.

"We're attracted to their travel expertise, and we feel that they will further our goal to create the most comprehensive and relevant travel experience on the web," Dugan said.

She added that the acquisition will not imminently affect Yahoo Travel, Yahoo's consumer travel property. The web portal is in an exclusive deal with Travelocity, which provides the underlying tools that let Yahoo visitors search for hotels, cars and flights. Yahoo has yet to disclose how it will incorporate FareChase into its website.

FareChase sells business-to-business software that lets travel agents and corporate booking offices search for flight times, car reservations and hotel vacancies in real time. It also lets consumers scout for the best travel deals from roughly 150 websites.

The web log site Searchblog first reported the acquisition.

Stefanie Olsen writes for CNET News.com