Despegar survived COVID's travel wipeout, then sold itself to Prosus for $1.7 billion

Despegar, Latin America's largest online travel agency with its main markets in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, listed on the NYSE in 2017 with Expedia Group among its shareholders. When COVID-19 shut down travel in 2020, its transactions collapsed, revenue fell by roughly 50% versus 2019, and the company booked a net loss of $142.9 million with an operating loss of $177.2 million.

The recovery was not quick. Even as travel resumed, 2022 ended in a net loss of $68.5 million, squeezed by inflation and higher rates across the region. Management concentrated the business on Brazil, the region's largest travel market, and held down its cost base so that the demand rebound would reach the bottom line rather than being consumed by fixed expenses.

It worked. 2023 brought net income of $24.5 million — the turnaround year — and 2024 net income rose to $27.9 million on total revenues of $774.1 million. That profitability was the setup for the exit: on December 23, 2024, Prosus agreed to acquire Despegar for $19.50 per ordinary share in an all-cash deal of about $1.7 billion, a 33% premium. Shareholders approved the merger on March 4, 2025, and the company prepared to delist from the NYSE.

Revenue fell ~50% in 2020 with a $142.9M net loss; Despegar returned to profit in 2023 ($24.5M) and 2024 ($27.9M), then sold at $19.50 a share — a 33% premium.

Cutting to a cash-generative core during the 2020 collapse kept Despegar solvent through two more loss-making years.

Concentrating on Brazil gave the recovery a single large engine instead of spreading bets across unstable currencies.

Keeping fixed costs flat meant the 2023 travel rebound converted into actual net income instead of margin fade.

Selling from profitability, not from the 2020 trough, earned shareholders a 33% premium rather than a distressed price.

In a demand wipeout, the winners cut to a cash-generative core early and double down on their largest market. A profitable recovery — not the crisis low — is the moment to sell or raise capital.

Prosus, which already ran investments across Latin American e-commerce, framed the deal as adding operational expertise and AI capabilities to Despegar's platform, with closing slated for the second quarter of 2025 and Despegar delisting from the NYSE. The company that lost $142.9 million in the pandemic's first year left public markets as a profitable, $1.7 billion acquisition — five years after COVID nearly erased its market.