THE founders of lastminute.com were looking forward to a share of £40m yesterday after the darling of the dotcom boom agreed a takeover by rival Travelocity.

Brent Hoberman and Martha Lane Fox will realise the value of their shareholding following the £577m offer, which comes five years after the stock floated.

The pair, who founded the business in 1998, had been sitting on far greater paper fortunes, but the rollercoaster ride for lastminute.com saw shares peak at 555p but then plunge as low as 17p in the two years following the listing.

Mr Hoberman, who owns 4.6 per cent of shares, will collect £26.9m when the 165p-a-share deal goes through, while Ms Lane Fox will earn £13.5m from her 2.4 per cent stake.

It is still possible a counter bid to the proposals from Travelocity owner Sabre could emerge, with the US-based owners of ebookers and Expedia seen as the most likely contenders.

About 140,000 private investors - most of whom were limited to 35 shares when the company floated - will will receive 165p for each share they own at yesterday's closing price.

Small shareholders once scrambled for a slice of the Internet high-flyer but, within weeks of its flotation, the technology bubble had burst.

At the time, last-minute.com was valued at more than many mainstream retailers, even though it had turnover of less than £4m in 2000.

Even today, it is still in the red, with bottom-line losses for the six months to March 31 reportedly widening to £45.2m.