Chinese social networking company Renren has sold its investment in Chinese online travel site eLong to Expedia for $72.4 million, or $23 per ADS.

The deal values eLong’s American depositary shares at about $23, a 65 percent premium to its Friday closing price at $13.97, reported online.wsj.com.

Dara Khosrowshahi, president and CEO of Expedia, mentioned that the company has chosen to increase its investment in eLong as the company considers China to be a key market in its efforts to expand internationally. He also mentioned the company is satisfied with the strategic and operational progress made by eLong.

“Our early investment in eLong helped us build mutually beneficial commercial ties as well as generate strong returns for our shareholders. Renren and eLong will continue to work on a number of joint initiatives, including Nuomi hotel group-buy, one of the largest hotel group-buy sites in China,” said Joseph Chen, chairman and chief executive officer of Renren.

In May this year, eLong announced investments featuring Tencent Holdings, one of the largest providers of Internet, mobile and telecommunication value-added services in China, as well as Expedia.

Tencent acquired approximately 16 percent of the outstanding shares for a total purchase price of $84.4 million and became the second largest shareholder of eLong. Expedia acquired approximately eight percent of the outstanding shares for $41.2 million to hold 56 percent of the outstanding shares, it was shared then.