NORWALK, Conn., July 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today The Priceline Group [NASDAQ: PCLN], the world leader in online travel and related services, and Hotel Urbano, one of Brazil's largest and fastest growing online travel companies, announced that the two companies have entered into a strategic partnership consisting of a commercial agreement and a minority investment by The Priceline Group. As part of the partnership, The Priceline Group will provide access to accommodations outside of Latin America from its global network of 680,000+ accommodations partners to Hotel Urbano. In addition, The Priceline Group has made a $60 million investment - equivalent to approximately R$185 million on this date - in exchange for a minority interest into Hotel Urbano.

The partnership will give consumers in Brazil and Latin America access to even more great accommodations around the world through The Priceline Group's network. Hotel Urbano will use Booking.com to power its non-LATAM retail hotels product on an exclusive basis, and The Priceline Group will also be the preferred provider for Hotel Urbano's global packages.

"Brazil is a dynamic, fast growing market and both of us are growing very rapidly within this region," said Darren Huston, President and CEO of The Priceline Group. "We are excited to partner with Hotel Urbano to help globalize their offering and let their customers experience the best of what both of us have to offer."

"The Priceline Group has truly global scale and partners with the world's best and most diverse accommodations worldwide - from hotels to villas and beyond," said Joao Ricardo and Jose Eduardo Mendes, co-founders of Hotel Urbano. "We are not only committed to bringing our customers access to the best experience out there, we are committed to expanding our presence in Latin America, and look forward to having this unique partnership with The Priceline Group as our first major step in this regard."

The strategic partnership will begin immediately and roll out fully over the coming quarters. Additional terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

About The Priceline Group

The Priceline Group (NASDAQ: PCLN) is the world leader in online travel and related services, provided to customers and partners in over 200 countries through six primary brands - Booking.com, priceline.com, KAYAK, agoda.com, rentalcars.com, and OpenTable. For more information, visit PricelineGroup.com.

About Hotel Urbano

Founded in early 2011 and headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Hotel Urbano has become one of Brazil's largest and fastest growing online travel companies. Hotel Urbano has established itself as one of the most trusted, respected and innovative travel brands in the country. Hotel Urbano has successfully developed a strong and unique strategy that effectively creates liquidity and generates demand for tourism and entertainment. The company has more than 8,000 direct Brazilian hotel partners on the platform and a large audience of Brazilian consumers. Hotel Urbano is already one of the top visited travel sites in the world on total monthly visits. For more information, visit hotelurbano.com

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SOURCE The Priceline Group