Aashish Sehrawat
Image: varindia
Even as the travel industry recovers from a pandemic-induced halt, EaseMyTrip is ready to make its first purchase in Traviate, a business-to-business platform.
According to a filing on Thursday, the listed company’s board of directors has evaluated and authorised its plan to enter into a non-binding agreement bid with Traviate Online Pvt. Ltd. for purchase.
The agreement will generate new revenue, “accelerate” EaseMyTrip’s expansion into the B2B hotel and vacation industry, and improve cost efficiency.
The deal is likely to be completed in three months, “subject to finalisation of definitive agreements, customary closing conditions and other necessary approvals”.
Traviate is India’s first B2B travel platform, having launched in 2016. It has over 1.2 million hotel listings and has processed over two lakh transactions. The B2B channel, which connects and transacts among travel agencies, hotels, tour operators, destination management firms, and other actors in the travel ecosystem, sells 70% of the company’s hotel inventory.
The two companies have a synergy, according to Rikant Pittie, creator of EaseMyTrip, in that they both use “leading-edge” technology to develop a lean and efficient infrastructure.
“We are thrilled about this development and look forward to having Traviate as our perfect partner to strengthen our portfolio in the B2B hotel and holiday space,” he said.
EaseMyTrip, founded in 2008 by Nishant Pitti, Prashant Pitti, and Rikant Pitti, offers discounts on flights, hotels, and vacation packages. The company was one of the few bootstrapped businesses to go public, and it was profitable as well.
When the whole travel market was brought to its knees owing to COVID-19, the company even increased its net profit to 61.4 crore in the financial year 2021. Its revenue, on the other hand, fell to 150 crore from 181 crore in FY20.
Since its IPO in March 2021, EaseMyTrip’s stock has increased by 134 percent. It also reached a market capitalization of Rs 7,300 crore ($1 billion) in September, when its shares were trading at Rs 714.
Users can book flights on more than 400 international and local airlines, over 1 million hotels, train/bus tickets, and taxi rentals in India’s major cities using the website. It has offices in India, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
EaseMyTrip shares surged 4.99 percent to Rs 492.00 on the BSE on Thursday, while the benchmark Sensex fell 1.89 percent to 59,984.70 points.