B2B travel co Travel Boutique Online has a clutch of PE suitors
, ET Bureau|
Updated: Sep 25, 2017, 09.53 AM IST
NEW DELHI: A clutch of blue-chip private equity firms are in discussions to invest in B2B travel platform Travel Boutique Online (TBO) and in the process potentially provide Naspers, the largest stakeholder in the company, with a blockbuster exit.
Standard Chartered Private Equity, ChrysCapital and Multiples Alternate Asset Management are said to have expressed interest in the Gurgaon-based company, according to two people with knowledge of the development.
Separately, New York Stock Exchange-listed Travelport is believed to have held exploratory talks with the TBO management, people told ET.
Emails sent to Standard Chartered Private Equity, Multiples, ChrysCapital and Travelport did not receive any response at the time of going to press.
ET was the first to report in its edition dated August 4 that Naspers, which invested about Rs 120 crore ($18.5 million) in Tek Travels, the parent of TBO, and holds a 52% stake in the venture, was looking to exit its five-yearold bet in the company.
Naspers is looking to earn between $85 million and $100 million in lieu of its investment in the company, which posted revenue of over Rs 200 crore in the financial year ended March 2016.
Additionally, Naspers is believed to have approached Nasdaq-listed online travel operators MakeMyTrip and Yatra. However, they are yet to show significant interest in picking up the South African media and internet conglomerate's stake in the company. TBO founders Ankush Nijhawan and Gaurav Batra, who own the remaining 48% of the company, have offered to buy out Naspers' stake in the company. Naspers, which counts Flipkart, India's largest ecommerce company, and food delivery platform Swiggy among its portfolio in the country, has been one of the most influential investors in India's fast-growing online travel sector.
In October last year, MakeMyTrip announced the acquisition of smaller rival, the Naspers and Tencent-backed Ibibo Group, a deal that marked the largest consolidation to have taken place in the country's internet sector and saw both strategic investors becoming the largest shareholders in the combined entity. TBO offers services such as airline, train and hotel reservations and holiday package deals to travel agents and acts as an aggregator of these services.
It helps charter helicopters and provides car rental, bus booking and travel insurance services.
Standard Chartered Private Equity, ChrysCapital and Multiples Alternate Asset Management are said to have expressed interest in the Gurgaon-based company, according to two people with knowledge of the development.
Separately, New York Stock Exchange-listed Travelport is believed to have held exploratory talks with the TBO management, people told ET.
Emails sent to Standard Chartered Private Equity, Multiples, ChrysCapital and Travelport did not receive any response at the time of going to press.
ET was the first to report in its edition dated August 4 that Naspers, which invested about Rs 120 crore ($18.5 million) in Tek Travels, the parent of TBO, and holds a 52% stake in the venture, was looking to exit its five-yearold bet in the company.
Naspers is looking to earn between $85 million and $100 million in lieu of its investment in the company, which posted revenue of over Rs 200 crore in the financial year ended March 2016.
Additionally, Naspers is believed to have approached Nasdaq-listed online travel operators MakeMyTrip and Yatra. However, they are yet to show significant interest in picking up the South African media and internet conglomerate's stake in the company. TBO founders Ankush Nijhawan and Gaurav Batra, who own the remaining 48% of the company, have offered to buy out Naspers' stake in the company. Naspers, which counts Flipkart, India's largest ecommerce company, and food delivery platform Swiggy among its portfolio in the country, has been one of the most influential investors in India's fast-growing online travel sector.
In October last year, MakeMyTrip announced the acquisition of smaller rival, the Naspers and Tencent-backed Ibibo Group, a deal that marked the largest consolidation to have taken place in the country's internet sector and saw both strategic investors becoming the largest shareholders in the combined entity. TBO offers services such as airline, train and hotel reservations and holiday package deals to travel agents and acts as an aggregator of these services.
It helps charter helicopters and provides car rental, bus booking and travel insurance services.
