Kayak.com raises $196 million to buy SideStep

Kayak.com, the travel search engine has completed a $196 million funding round that it will use to buy SideStep Inc. Kayak.com said it intends to maintain both the SideStep.com and Kayak.com brands and will develop and promote each site independently. As reported in the Silicon Valley Business Journal, Michael Moritz of Menlo Park-based Sequoia Capital will join Kayak.com’s board. Other participants include existing Kayak.com investors General Catalyst Partners of Cambridge, Mass., and Accel Partners of Palo Alto. SideStep investors involved included Norwest Venture Partners and Trident Capital, both of Palo Alto. New investors include Oak Investment Partners, which has an office in Palo Alto, Lehman Brothers Venture Partners, and debt lenders Silicon Valley Bank and Gold Hill Capital.