We originally invested in Qunar Cayman Islands Ltd. (QUNR, Financial) in the fourth quarter of 2013 when the company went public. As the second largest and the fastest growing online travel provider in China, we thought Qunar was well positioned to benefit from the rapidly rising penetration rates of online travel in the fastest growing travel market in the world. The stock rose 79% during the quarter as their main rival Ctrip acquired a large stake in Qunar from its former parent company Baidu. We sold approximately half of our position and are monitoring this fluid situation closely. Qunar has previously rebuffed Ctrip’s acquisition offer and we believe this particular transaction benefits Ctrip (which we also own) much more than it does Qunar.
From Baron Funds' Global Advantage Fund letter for the fourth quarter 2015.
