Travel app Ixigo has entered into a definitive share purchase agreement to acquire 100 per cent shareholding of Bengaluru-based online train discovery and booking platform Confirmtkt for an undisclosed amount across a mix of cash and Ixigo stock. Both the companies will continue to run independently after the acquisition.
Both the companies, Ixigo and Confirmtkt are official Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) premium ticketing partners for online train reservations in India.
As of pre-COVID-19, the train travel in India had been touted to be a $8-billion market, with more than 25 million passengers taking a trip every day. According to Ixigo, resumption of train services and relaxation of lockdown norms have led to swift recovery of reserved ticketing to near pre-COVID-19 levels.
“The combined entity will have a scale of 35 million monthly active users, and our endeavour in the coming year will be to drive faster growth and deeper penetration in the Next Billion User” segment”, said by co-founders of Ixigo, Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar. “This deal will help the group to consolidate its presence in Tier 2/3/4 markets with its combined user base of nearly 200 million Indians”, the statement further said.
Ixigo and Confirmtkt were established in the year 2007 and 2015 respectively.
