Usa Interactive Inc

USA Interactive Inc., the slimmed-down successor to USA Networks, said it plans to buy travel services company Interval International Inc. for about $578million in stock and cash to help build its online travel packages business. Miami-based Interval derives sales from fees paid by consumers and resort developers for vacation timeshares and other travel-related services. USA is buying Interval from Chicago-based private equity firm Willis, Stein & Partners and other investors.

Media mogul Barry Diller is said to be making a "night job" out of running troubled Vivendi Universal's entertainment operations. That's a good thing because his day job just got tougher. Diller was caught Monday in a nasty market squeeze as Hotels.com, a unit in his Internet empire, slashed its financial projections, triggering a plunge in its own stock and taking that of three other Diller-related ventures down with it. Shares of Hotels.com dropped 25%.

Vivendi Universal Chief Executive Jean-Rene Fourtou and USA Interactive Chairman Barry Diller sought Thursday to downplay perceptions of a widening rift between them as they attempt to untangle their complex partnership. In a joint statement, the two said they remain committed to renegotiating their involvement in Vivendi Universal Entertainment, a unit that owns Universal Studios and other properties. "These discussions, cordial and collegial, continue," the statement said.

Media mogul Barry Diller's e-commerce company, USA Interactive, reported a large fourth-quarter profit, primarily from its travel businesses, dating service and an $80-million tax gain. The New York company reported net income of $148.1 million, or 30 cents per share, in the three months ended Dec. 31, versus a loss of $46.4 million, or 15 cents, a year earlier. Revenue increased to $1.34 billion from $948.5 million in 2001.

Vivendi Universal raised more cash to cut its debt when it sold some USA Interactive securities for $240 million, sending shares of the online commerce firm tumbling. Vivendi said it was selling 28 million of its warrants on USA Interactive stock in a deal linked to a wider transaction announced by Deutsche Bank's Luxembourg arm to launch a $805-million exchangeable bond. USA Interactive shares fell almost 9% to $22.

Barry Diller's USA Interactive agreed to acquire the 32% of Hotels.com it doesn't already own for about $1.1 billion in stock, the final step in Diller's plan to buy USA's publicly traded units. USA will swap 2.4 shares for each share of Hotels.com, an online seller of discounted hotel rooms. The price values Hotels.com at about $60.24 a share, 13% more than its closing price Wednesday. Hotels.com will remain separate from USA's Expedia Inc., the largest online travel agency.

The rancor between Barry Diller and former partner Vivendi Universal escalated Tuesday as the media mogul's company filed a lawsuit accusing the entertainment giant of reneging on an agreement to pay taxes. The unusual action comes nearly one month after Diller stepped down from his temporary position as chairman of Vivendi Universal Entertainment, the joint venture created last year when Diller sold his USA entertainment holdings to Vivendi in a deal valued at about $11 billion.

Vivendi Universal returned fire at Barry Diller's USA Interactive, saying its lawsuit was "without merit" and a negotiating ploy. USA Interactive accused Vivendi on Tuesday of reneging on a commitment to cover approximately $620 million in taxes arising from its interest in Vivendi Universal Entertainment, created last year when USA sold its movie and television properties to Vivendi for about $11 billion. The company, which is seeking buyers for its U.S.

USA Interactive, the online commerce company headed by Barry Diller, said Thursday that its first-quarter loss narrowed as sales increased at its Expedia Inc. and Hotels.com Internet travel services. The stock rose 9.1%. The net loss shrank to $112.1 million, or 23 cents a share, from $438.6 million, or $1.04, a year earlier. Revenue jumped 43% to $1.39 billion, USA said.

Barry Diller's USA Interactive, expanding the range of goods and services it sells on the Internet, agreed to purchase LendingTree Inc. for $734 million in stock. Shareholders of LendingTree, a Web-based loan service, will receive 0.6199 of a share of USA common stock for each share of LendingTree common stock they own, the companies said. LendingTree shares rose as much as 45%.