EaseMyTrip — the country’s second largest online travel booking portal — has acquired the brand name and technology platform of bus-ticketing and intercity travel provider YoloBus for an undisclosed sum.
“The company is entering into a definitive agreement subject to closing conditions to acquire the brand name, technology, running business expertise, data and team of Yolo Traveltech, operating under the name of YoloBus,” EaseMyTrip said in a stock market notification.
This acquisition, the third by EaseMyTrip (the listed entity being Easy Trip Planners) this fiscal, is aimed at strengthening the company’s presence in the non-air ticket booking segment.
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Adjusted revenues (which include discounts given, claims and returns) for H1 FY22 stood at ₹150 crore, a 312 per cent jump y-o-y on a low base.
Gross booking revenues during the period stood at ₹1,252 crore. Nearly 93 per cent of its GMV or gross merchandising value comes directly from consumers.
EaseMyTrip said, “This acquisition will add a new revenue stream,” and will also leverage YoloBus’ full-stack technology-enabled platform, its team and data expertise.
Founded by Mukul Shah and Shailesh Gupta, YoloBus operates an asset-light pan-India model in the inter-city bus transport segment. Last year, it raised Series-A funding at a valuation of ₹84 crore from marquee investors like Nexus Venture Partners & India Quotient.
‘Phenomenal growth’
The intercity travel segment (mostly across 250-major routes in the country) is pegged to be a $45 billion business covering services by buses and trains.
According to Rikant Pittie, Co-Founder, EaseMyTrip, tech-enabled bus mobility is the future and the company is expecting a phenomenal growth there.
“We are confident that its tech-backed mobility solutions will be a huge draw for travelers and will further strengthen our position in the segment,” he said per a statement on the bourses.
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Over the last few quarters, the portal – which competes with the likes of MakeMyTrip – has been quite aggressive on the acquistion front. In November, it acquired Spree Hospitality – a 1,200 keys hospitality management company. In October, EaseMyTrip made its first acquisition which consisted of Traviate, a B2B travel marketplace.
EaseMyTrip stock closed at ₹577.75, down 1.24 per cent, on the BSE on Thursday.
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