Mumbai: IPO-linked online travel portal Ixigo has taken over the seat in Hyderabad AbhiBusmaking the ticketing and aggregation platform the latest to succumb to a pandemic-induced slowdown in transportation.
The burglary sale involves a mix of cash and Ixigo stock in return.
“The AbhiBus team, led by its founder Sudhakar Reddy Chirra, has joined the Ixigo team and all intellectual property rights, trademarks, technology and operations are being transferred to Ixigo,” said a statement released Thursday. The deal will help Ixigo consolidate its presence in Tier II / III / IV markets by “providing a multimodal transportation experience” to the combined user base of 255 million users.
AbhiBus was founded by Chirra in 2008 and offers end-to-end software and other value-added solutions such as e-ticketing systems as well as fleet and logistics management solutions. The company also provides technology solutions for private bus companies and state transport companies in India. It counts IRCTC Ltd. as a partner.
According to industry reports, AbhiBus was the second largest bus aggregator in India in 2019-20, selling 26,000 bus tickets per day through its platform.
“As a team, we remain committed to our shared vision of serving the underserved segment of the next billion travelers for whom trains and buses are the most important means of transportation,” said Chirra.
That Ixigo AbhiBus offer is the latest in an ongoing consolidation in India Travel industry.
- In 2019, Ebix acquired Yatra.com travel portal for $ 337.8 million.
- Ixigo acquired Train booking app Confirmtkt earlier this year.
Ixigo was founded by Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar and is supported by affiliates from Sequoia Capital and Elevation Capital, among others. Last week it is
Raised $ 53 million (approx. 400 billion rupees) from investors from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd. before the planned initial public offering (IPO).
“AbhiBus has built an innovative, high-growth company that is deeply anchored on the supply side with state road transport companies and private bus operators as well as the demand side as the dominant bus ticket brand in several Indian states,” Bajpai and Kumar said in the statement. “By leveraging our combined user base, multimodal transportation capabilities, technology resources and travel experience, we will be able to improve the experience of millions of travelers in India every day.”
