India’s leading ecommerce marketplace has announced the acquisition of Cleartrip, an online travel technology company, for an undisclosed value, however, sources indicate that it is a cash-cum-stock deal valued at around $40 million.
Under the terms of the agreement, Cleartrip will continue to operate as a separate brand, retaining all employees while working closely with Flipkart to further develop technology solutions in the travel segment.
On the acquisition, Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart Group, said, “The Flipkart Group is committed to transforming customer experiences through digital commerce. Cleartrip is synonymous with travel for many customers, and as we diversify and look at new areas of growth, this investment will help strengthen our wide range of offerings for customers.”
Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy
According to Flipkart, this investment strengthens its digital commerce offerings for customers. The acquisition also gives the ecommerce company the leverage to cross-sell its services through the travel and hospitality segment. It had introduced travel bookings in 2018 through a partnership with MakeMyTrip but later it had switched to the next year.
On the transaction, Stuart Crighton, CEO and Co-founder of Cleartrip, said, “Cleartrip has been a pioneer in capitalising on technology to simplify the travel experience for our customers. This product-driven focus has enabled us to become the preferred travel partner of choice for consumers in a wide range of markets in the region.”
He further added, “We are delighted to be part of the Flipkart family and are excited about the positive impact this collaboration can have for our customers and the travel industry in general.”
It has been a very challenging phase for Cleartrip which was founded in 2006. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have very severe impact on the travel and tourism segment, and there are no visible signs of any kind of recovery.
Cleartrip last raised an undisclosed round of funding from Concur Technologies and Gund Investments in 2016.
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