TripAdvisor to buy French restaurant booking engine LaFourchette

US giant TripAdvisor is acquiring France's LaFourchette, an online restaurant booking site with a network of more than 12,000 restaurants in Europe that offers hefty discounts on dining out.

The US travel mammoth announced Wednesday it had made an "exclusive offer" for the website that "was signed by the shareholders of LaFourchette", without giving any financial details.

"There are a few legal details still to be worked out. We hope everything will be concluded by the end of May," LaFourchette co-founder and head Bertrand Jelensperger told AFP.

"This is a real opportunity for us as there is very, very strong complimentarity. This buyout by TripAdvisor will allow LaFourchette to develop faster and in more countries," he said.

Jelensperger added the company, which employs 190 people including 75 in France, would remain headquartered in Paris after the purchase.

LaFourchette, which means "the fork" in French, operates in France and other countries such as Spain where it goes by Eltenedor and Britain where it is TheFork.

Founded in 2000, TripAdvisor has been on a buying spree. Its most recent acquisition is Britain-based TripBod, a start-up which connects travellers with local experts.