Travel and hotel booking service provider ixigo, which is preparing to float its initial public offering (IPO), on Thursday said it has acquired bus ticketing and aggregation platform AbhiBus.
The transaction involves a mix of cash and ixigo stock, said ixigo in a statement without specifying details.
The acquisition, the statement added, will help ixigo consolidate its presence in smaller towns and cities.
As part of the deal, the Hyderabad based AbhiBus team led by founder Sudhakar Reddy Chirra has joined ixigo. AbhiBus, founded in 2008, provides tech solutions to private bus partners and state transport corporations in India. It has also partnered state-run Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp (IRCTC) to offer bus tickets.
This is ixigo's second acquisition this year. Earlier in February, ixigo acquired train discovery and booking entity Confirmtkt in a cash and stock deal.
Last week, ixigo raised Rs 270.3 crore (about $36.5 million) in a funding round led by Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, regulatory filings showed.
According to The Economic Times, the Gurugram-based company raised a total of Rs 395 crore in a mix of primary and secondary transactions, with White Oak and Orios Venture Partners joining the round.
Quoting unnamed sources, the report said the company will float its shares in the fourth quarter of the current calendar year and is looking at a valuation of $750-800 million.
Earlier this week, ixigo strengthened its board by adding six new members as independent directors. In May, it appointed Ravi Shanker Gupta as its chief financial officer to accelerate its IPO process.
Following food delivery unicorn Zomato’s strong debut on the stock markets last month, several consumer internet startups are lining up to tap the public market for growth.
