Ixigo parent purchases AbhiBus, second acquisition ahead of IPO

ixigo will likely file the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in July

Le Travenues Technology, the parent company of artificial intelligence (AI) based travel app Ixigo has purchased the business and operations of AbhiBus, the Hyderabad-based bus ticketing and aggregation platform.

The acquisition is a going concern on a slump sale basis, vide a business transfer agreement, for a mix of cash and Ixigo stock as consideration, as per a statement from the company.

All intellectual property, brands, technology and operations have also been transferred to Ixigo and AbhiBus employees, including Founder Sudhakar Reddy Chirra are now on board the Ixigo team, it added.

Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar, Co-Founders of Ixigo said, “AbhiBus is an innovative and high growth company with deep penetration on the supply side across state road transport companies (SRTCs) and private bus operators and on-demand side as a dominant bus ticketing brand in several states.”

Also Read: Ixigo site backed by Sequoia Capital and MakeMyTrip latest to join IPO bandwagon

Chirra said they are “excited” to join Ixigo and “remain committed towards the underserved market segment for whom trains and buses are the primary modes of transportation”.

The statement noted that India’s long-haul intercity bus market was valued at Rs 585 billion in FY2020, and buses are the most preferred mode of travel in urban and rural areas – accounting for 65 percent of all transportation.

Further, the resumption of bus services after relaxations in COVID-19 lockdowns across the country has led to a swift recovery of ticketing volumes. The industry is also expecting full recovery in the next six months.

Also Read: Ixigo in final stage talks to close pre-IPO round led by GIC Info Edge, Malabar Investments, White Oak Capital & others

Notably, this is initial public offering (IPO) bound Ixigo’s second acquisition in 2021. It earlier bought train booking app Confirmtkt.

As per industry reports, AbhiBus was the second-largest bus aggregator in India in FY20, selling 26,000 bus tickets per day through its platform. This deal will help the Ixigo group to consolidate its presence in Tier 2, 3, and 4 markets by offering a multi-modal transportation experience across trains, flights, and buses to its combined user base of nearly 255 million users, as of May 31, 2021.