MUMBAI: In an effort to expand its customer base, online travel portal Yatra.com has acquired events and entertainment portal Buzzintown.com.
This is its third acquisition in 15 months. It is estimated that the travel portal will expand its customer base by three million registered users through this acquisition.
Yatra.com co-founder and CEO Dhruv Shringi said, "Buzzintown will enable Yatra.com to provide its customers an enhanced experience by sourcing special deals for the destinations they are traveling to. Our focus is on increasing our portfolio of internet services for our customers, and investing in product development and innovation through
both organic and inorganic means."
Buzzintown.com’s Amitabh Saran, who will continue as CEO, said, "We get millions of visitors with a common interest for alternate options of entertainment where a large majority of these surfers like to be outdoors and explore newer destinations. With this acquisition, Buzzintown customers will now be able to even plan and book their travel with Yatra.com."
Buzzintown is an events and entertainment portal providing listings, content, deals and services across numerous events and happenings in the world and will continue to operate under the same brand name. It provides information on an array of events, including videos, venue details, artiste profiles, groups, and other stakeholders of the event industry.
Buzzintown has presence in over 19 Indian cities, and 16 cities across USA and Canada, Buzzintown. It is reported that this acquisition will help catalyse the expansion of Yatra.com’s portfolio giving customers the access to services beyond travel.
Previously, Yatra.com acquired ticket consolidator Travel Services International (TSI) to strengthen its foray into the B2B consolidation space. In July 2011, Yatra.com acquired hotel aggregation company, MagicRooms, offering access to a live inventory of over 3,000 hotels across India.
In April 2011, the online travel portal had received a funding of Rs 2 billion from venture capital firms Valiant Capital Management, Norwest Venture Partners (NVP), and Intel Capital. Interestingly, Buzzintown is also backed by Intel Capital.
