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APN News & Media will buy up to 20 per cent of tourist accommodation search engine company Roamfree as part of a strategy to grow its online business.
APN said it would invest up to A$20 million over five years in Brisbane-headquartered Roamfree.
Online chief executive Warren Lee said APN had significantly grown its online business during the past 18 months. "We're constantly looking for growth opportunities ... that are related to, but take us slightly outside, our core business."
Roamfree enabled people to search online for accommodation, compare prices, check availability, place bookings and pay from one website.
APN's operations include radio broadcasting, outdoor advertising and newspapers such as the Herald.
Roamfree had more than 100,000 accommodation sites listed worldwide and was targeting growth to more than a million. The search engine website had the potential to become the Google of the global accommodation industry, Lee said.
"We think they've got a great market opportunity and they've executed very, very well," he said.
Roamfree managing director Tony Smith said APN's investment showed confidence in the firm's strategy of becoming the market leader for searching for accommodation online.
"APN is an ideal cornerstone investor for us not only for their broad reach in the media but for their collection of high-volume websites that will all connect to roamfree.com."
