Tripadvisor gains 3% amid report of Apollo takeover interest

Tripadvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) quickly rose 3.4% amid a report that private equity firm Apollo Global Management (APO) has expressed interest in the travel information services firm.

Tripadvisor has been working with advisers after receiving interest, according to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday, which cited people familiar with the matter. The deliberations are at an early stage and no deal may happen, the report said.

The report comes after Tripadvisor (TRIP) last month company announced it formed a special committee to evaluate acquisition proposals, Gregory Maffei's Liberty TripAdvisor (OTCQB:LTRPA), which owns 21% of TRIP and has 57% voting control of TRIP, also announced it's considering a transaction whereby all LTRP and TRIP shares would be purchased for cash.

Tripadvisor (TRIP) shares rose 14% on Feb. 13 after the announcement about a potential sale.

Private equity is the most likely buyer of Tripadvisor (TRIP) and the company has a sum-of-the-parts valuation of $25 a share, Wells Fargo analyst Brian Fitzgerald wrote in a note last month.