Online travel marketplace Wego, operated by Wego Pte Ltd, has signed a definitive agreement with the Flipkart Group to buy the Middle East business of its online travel portal Cleartrip, the companies said in a joint statement on Monday.
As a part of the transaction, Wego will also buy Flyin.com--a company acquired by Cleartrip Cleartrip in 2018. Further, Flipkart and Wego have signed a technology co-operation agreement, the companies said.
Last year in April, Flipkart had announced the proposal to acquire Cleartrip to diversify offerings.
The boards of directors of both the companies have approved the transaction, financial details of which were not disclosed, and the deal is expected to close in the second half of 2022, according to the statement.
Cleartrip had expanded organically into the Middle East region in 2010 and later acquired Riyadh-based Flyin.com, which led to the company starting operations in Saudi Arabia, the company said, adding that both Wego and Cleartrip have their regional headquarters located in Dubai Internet City.
Cleartrip was founded in 2006 by Crighton, Hrush Bhatt and Matthew Spacie, who is not with the company anymore. It offers a platform for booking hotels, flights and trains. In 2016, it launched Cleartrip Local, a platform that offers curated activities and experiences.
Wego, on its part, claims to operate the largest online travel marketplace in the Middle East and North Africa regions. The company offers a platform through mobile applications for travel search websites. The company uses technology to automate the process of searching, comparing and booking travel across airlines, hotel chains and online travel agencies. The company also has a headquarter in Singapore and counts Tiger Global Management, Crescent Point, Square Peg Capital, Middle East Venture Partners and the MBC Group as its backers.
“The Middle East is set to be one of the most exciting growth stories of the next decade with the travel and technology sectors taking center stage and with the Wego group playing a very crucial role. This acquisition will significantly increase our scale and capabilities and will strengthen our ability to partner and collaborate across our region,” said Ross Veitch, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Wego.
Flipkart’s sale of Cleartrip’s Middle East operations comes at a time when the pandemic-led lockdowns and travel restrictions over the last two years have crippled demand for global travel. Flipkart had previously stitched partnerships with other travel portals MakeMyTrip and Ixigo.
Countries across the globe put restrictions on domestic and international travel in a bid to curb the spread of the contagious coronavirus disease. India has still not opened its international borders to tourists and domestically, flights are still not operating at full capacity thanks to stringent restrictions put by local governments on movements of people.
“Given our strategic priorities and focus on the Indian market, the acquisition of Cleartrip’s Middle East business by Wego provides continuity to its business, and we believe that they are the right partners to boost its next phase of growth,” said Ravi Iyer, Senior Vice President and Head - Corporate Development, Flipkart.