the first public beta of the Expedia booking engine in October 1996, positioning it as a consumer complement to its MSN portal. After early traffic growth, Microsoft announced plans to float the unit; the initial public offering on 10 November 1999 was priced at US$14 and the shares closed the first day at US$37, valuing the business at more than US$2 billion.

In July 2001, Barry Diller's USA Network (later IAC/InterActiveCorp) agreed to purchase a 75 % stake in