March 23 (Reuters) - Online travel company Tripadvisor ( TRIP )

said on Monday it had signed a cooperation agreement

with activist investor Starboard Value and expanded its board

from eight to 10 directors, as part of a major overhaul.

Tripadvisor ( TRIP ) has added Dhiren Fonseca and Andrew Cates to its

board, effective immediately, as part of the agreement, the

company said. Starboard will recommend two additional directors

for election at its annual stockholders meeting, it added.

Shares of the Needham, Massachusetts-based company were up

more than 3% in premarket trading following the news.

The move comes after Starboard sent a letter to the board

urging Tripadvisor ( TRIP ) to formally explore a sale of the entire

company and criticized the pace of efforts to review strategic

alternatives for its restaurant-booking unit, TheFork.

The company has been grappling with a lagged recovery from

pandemic-era disruptions as it navigates through a competitive

travel landscape, with peers such as Booking Holdings ( BKNG )

and Airbnb ( ABNB ) sizing up the market share.