Online travel giant Expedia Group Inc. said today it’s raising $3.2 billion to sustain its business through the coronavirus pandemic and has appointed a new top executive to execute the strategy. 

The funding, which the company expects to close by May 5, is to consist of $1.2 billion in equity and $2 billion in debt. The equity portion is expected to come from investment firms Apollo Global Management and Silver Lake Partners. Silver Lake also chipped into the $2 billion Airbnb Inc. raised earlier as part of a similar bid to weather the financial impact of the pandemic, which has caused international travel to plummet.

Expedia competes with Airbnb in the home rentals category, but the segment is just one of the areas where it operates. The company, which posted $12.1 billion in revenue for the 2019 fiscal year, helps users find hotel rooms, airline tickets and rental cars via a large network of travel booking websites that includes Expedia.com.

Alongside the investment, Expedia announced today that board member Peter Kern is taking the helm as chief executive officer. Longtime executive Eric Hart has been promoted to the role of chief financial officer.

Kern and Hart, who are taking over roles left vacant after a management shakeup last year, will lead Expedia’s efforts to improve its financial position amid lower customer demand. 

“We will be implementing furloughs and reduced work week programs for select volume-based teams with limited work right now,” Expedia Chairman Barry Diller said in a statement. Diller, who is the company’s largest shareholder, added that the company will stop matching 401(k) contributions for U.S. staff until the end of the year. Diller, Kern and the board will for their part forgo pay, while the rest of the senior leadership team is taking a 25% salary cut.

Diller sounded an optimistic note about Expedia’s long-term prospects. “We have the financing to carry us through, a superb newly named senior management team, and a very clear focus for whatever the future brings,” he said.

Silver Lake’s contribution to Expedia’s $3.2 billion raise and the $2 billion cash haul Airbnb closed earlier could position it as a major power broker in the travel booking industry. The venerable investment firm is not new to the segment. Silver Lake co-owned publicly traded travel technology provider Sabre Corp. at one point and was a major stakeholder until a few quarters ago.

Photo: Expedia