Nasdaq-listed online travel aggregator MakeMyTrip Monday said it has agreed to buy the expense management business from fintech unicorn Cred-owned Happay.
As a part of the agreement, Happay brand, its expense management business, and its dedicated team will transition to MakeMyTrip. Meanwhile, Happay’s payments business and team, which has focused on developing a technology stack and business payments products, will remain with CRED.
The latest deal comes about three years after Kunal Shah-led Cred announced its plans to buy Happay in December 2021, in a bid to diversify its offerings. The deal, a mix of cash and stock, valued Happay at about $180 million (about Rs 1,500 crore).
While MakeMyTrip did not share more details about the deal, Cred declined to comment.
“Our focus at Cred is on developing products that enable financial progress,” Shah said in a statement. “By enabling each vertical to play to its strengths, we’re positioning both teams - who’ve built market-leading products and capabilities - to scale in their domains.”
The deal helps MakeMyTrip, which also owns travel website Goibibo and bus booking company redBus, to add expense management capabilities as it develops a comprehensive suite of offerings of corporate travel.
Happay was founded in 2012 by the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur alumni--Anshul Rai and Varun Rathiwas. It initially started out as a consumer-facing peer-to-peer mobile wallet, before pivoting to an expense management platform for enterprises. It was backed by the likes of Peak XV and private equity firm Axiom
Its business expense management solutions include petty cash management, expense report automation, prepaid cards for business expenses, travel and expense management, employee flexible benefits, international travel cards and a digital marketing expense card.
Currently, Happay has a set of about 900 corporate clients.
“The acquisition of Happay’s brand and expense management platform is a natural next step in our strategy to lead (corporate travel sector). By integrating Happay’s expertise, which spans over 900 corporate clients, MakeMyTrip is set to redefine the benchmarks once again in corporate travel and expense management in India,” Rajesh Magow, co-founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip, said.
MakeMyTrip is catering to more than 59,000 corporate clients through its platform for small and medium businesses MyBiz and more than 450 large corporates through Quest2Travel, meant for large enterprises.