EH STAFF – Mumbai
Yatra.com has announced that it has agreed to acquire a 100 per cent stake in Travelguru from Travelocity Global. Travelguru will continue to operate as a separate entity under its existing brand name. When completed, this acquisition will be Yatra.com’s fourth major acquisition in the last 18 months, following the purchase of TSI in October 2010, MagicRooms in June 2011 and Buzzintown in January, 2012.
Travelguru is one of India’s largest hotel distribution network offering access to more than 6,500 hotels in India and 72,000 hotels worldwide. Commenting on this new development, Dhruv Shringi, co-founder and CEO, Yatra.com said, “This acquisition will significantly strengthen our domestic hotels and holidays business and reinforces our growth strategy and long term commitment and belief in the Indian online travel industry. 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 plus agents.”
Roshan Mendis, president, Travelocity North America 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.”
Previously, Yatra.com had 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 January, 2012, premier event and entertainment promotion portal Buzzintown was acquired by Yatra.com, expanding Yatra’s portfolio and giving consumers the access to services beyond travel.
