MUMBAI: Online travel company Yatra.com is set to make its fourth major acquisition in 18 months as it intends to buy 100 per cent stake in Travelguru, the Indian arm of US travel services provider Travelocity.
Yatra has investors like Network18, Norwest Venture Partners, Reliance Capital and Intel Capital.
The acquired entity will continue to operate as a separate unit under its existing brand name.
Yatra.com earlier bought out Travel Services International (TSI) in October 2010, MagicRooms in June 2011 and Buzzintown in January, 2012.
In October 2011, when Yatra.com acquired ticket consolidator Travel Services International (TSI), it strengthened its foray into the B2B consolidation space. Later, in July 2011 the portal acquired hotel aggregation company, MagicRooms, gaining access to a live inventory of over 3,000 hotels across India. Earlier this year in January, it took over event and entertainment promotion portal Buzzintown to expand its portfolio and give consumers the access to service beyond travel.
Through its latest acquisition, Yatra.com hopes to further fortify its position as the leading company in the Indian online travel space and will substantially extend its position as the premiere aggregator and seller of domestic hotels and holidays in India, adding to its already strong offerings for flights and outbound holidays.
Travelguru’s hotel distribution network in India offers access to more than 6,500 hotels in the country and close to 72,000 hotels worldwide. Travelguru facilitates a broad range of travel options and recommendations for domestic as well as international travelers.
Yatra.com co-founder and CEO Dhruv Shringis said, “Not only will this consolidation increase our customer base, but it also widens our product portfolio and leverages our ability to bundle solutions, offering better deals and value propositions to our customers. The acquisition will also provide Travelguru’s hotel partners with a much wider distribution network through Yatra.com and its B2B network of 10,000+ agents."
Travelocity North America president Roshan Mendis said, “The two brands have obvious synergy and are an excellent fit. Moving forward, we will work closely with the Yatra.com team on a transition plan and an arrangement to source India hotel content for Travelocity Global so that our customers continue to have the best access to accommodation options in India."
