Cendant Travel Distribution Services, announced that it has acquired substantially all of the assets of The Away Network, a leader in online special interest travel. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed and the size of the transaction is not material to Cendant or its TDS Division.

“With this strategic tuck-in acquisition, Cendant Travel Distribution Services augments its ability to drive traffic, capture advertising revenues and reach travelers earlier in the planning cycle, when they are researching their trips using Away’s unique content,” said Sam Katz, chairman and CEO of TDS. “Furthermore, we expect The Away Network sites to enhance our capabilities to serve attractive specialty travel markets.”

“We are delighted to join forces with Cendant and bring our business model to a wider audience,” said Sean Greene, CEO and founder of The Away Network. Mr. Greene and his senior management team will remain with Cendant TDS following the acquisition.

Away Network operates three sites: Away.com, GORP.com (Great Outdoor Recreation Pages) and Outside Online, the website of Outside Magazine. Combined, these sites averaged nearly 2 million unique visitors a month in 2004, according to Comscore Media Metrix. Away Network sites offer more than 50,000 pages of travel content, including destination and activity guides and maps, gear reviews and feature articles published by Outside Magazine.

Special interest travel represents large segments of the U.S. travel market. For example, more than one-third of leisure trips are family vacations, while outdoor recreation is the primary purpose of about 13 percent of all leisure trips, according to the Travel Industry Association of America. Sites in The Away Network recently received Forbes “Best of the Web” awards in family vacations, adventure travel, nature tours, romantic travel and road trips.