Sabre Holdings to Cut Work Force, Acquire GetThere

Sabre Holdings Corp., the largest travel-reservation company, said it would cut 1,200 jobs, or 11% of its work force, and will acquire rival GetThere Inc. for $757 million in cash. Fort Worth-based Sabre will take a $20-million charge in the third quarter for cuts through attrition and firings, a move the company expects will save about $100 million annually starting next year. The purchase of Menlo Park, Calif.-based GetThere, a provider of travel services to companies such as Boeing Co. and Xerox Corp., is part of Sabre’s push for corporate clients. Both the acquisition and job cuts stem from a shift in Sabre strategy toward providing computer reservation services rather than entire systems for large companies. UAL Corp.’s United Airlines owns a 28.7% stake in GetThere, or about 9.4 million shares, and said it will sell its shares in the transaction. Sabre’s deal values GetThere at $17.75 a share. GetThere climbed $5.06 to close at $17.19 on Nasdaq. Sabre fell 94 cents to close at $28.81 on the New York Stock Exchange.