Abhibus, an intercity bus operator, has been acquired by travel search app Ixigo. 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. Ixigo says the acquisition boosts its presence outside of India’s major cities enabling it to offer a multi-modal service across rail, air and road, as it gets ready to go public.
Abhibus was India’s second largest bus operator in 2020 selling 26,000 tickets a day via the platform, according to a statement. Ixigo will now acquire access to AbhiBus’ intellectual property, brands, technology and operations with this acquisition.
The duo claims to have a combined user base of 255 million, as of May 31, 2021.
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.”
“By leveraging our combined user base, multi-modal transportation capabilities, tech resources and travel domain expertise we will be able to enhance the experience of millions of travelers in India every day,” it was said in a statement.
This is Ixigo’s second acquisition in 2021 with the company announcing the acquisition of Confirmtkt in February. Last year it announced an investment in smart bus startup GogoBus.
Ixigo recently raised $53 million in a round led by Gamnat, an investment firm managed by Singapore sovereign wealth fund, GIC.
