Chinese online travel agent Ctrip has agreed to buy UK-based Skyscanner in a deal worth GBP£1.4 billion (USD$1.74 billion).

Skyscanner said Ctrip had signed a definitive agreement with the majority shareholders of Skyscanner Holdings and the Chinese company will offer to acquire the remaining shareholders’ shares.

“Skyscanner is one of the largest travel search platforms in the world,” Ctrip chairman James Jianzhang Liang said. “Skyscanner will complement our positioning at a global scale.”

Skyscanner’s chief executive Gareth Williams said the company will remain operationally independent after the deal closes at the end of the year.