Blackstone wants payback with Orbitz IPO

As Blackstone goes through the convoluted process of its own IPO, the firm is also prepping a portfolio company for the public markets: Orbitz.

Back in 2003, Orbitz actually took a flier as a public company – and then sold out to Cendant in 2004. Cendant then wrapped the company into other units and formed Travelport. Then last year, Cendant sold Travelport to Blackstone.

One thing's for sure: the investment banks must have racked up lots of juicy fees.

Orbitz got its start in 1999. The founders included American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines and United Air Lines. Yes, the idea was to tap into the emerging online market for ticketing.

Now, Orbitz has an array of strong properties like CheapTickets, ebookers, HotelClub, RatesToGo and the Away Network. In all, there is a base of about 48 million registered users.

In 2006, Orbitz generated $752 million in net revenue and $117 million in adjusted EBITDA.

The underwriters include Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Goldman, Sachs & Co. (NYSE: GS), Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH), and JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM).

You can find the prospectus at the SEC website.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.