Ixigo has acquired train booking firm Comfirmtkt for an undisclosed amount in a cash-plus-stock deal.
As part of the deal, Ixigo founders Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar will be joining the board of Confirmtkt and existing investors including Venture Catalysts will exit the company.
Both companies will continue to run independently, Ixigo said in a statement. The deal will help the group consolidate its presence in tier 2, 3 and 4 markets, it added.
Both Ixigo and Confirmtkt are official B2C premium ticketing partners with IRCTC for online train reservations in India.
“Confirmtkt has built a company with a great product-market fit and a focus on train-related use-cases. By leveraging our combined user base, resources, and tech expertise we will be able to enhance the experience of millions of train travellers in India every day.” said Ixigo founders Bajpai and Kumar. “The combined entity will have 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 Users’ segment.”
Started in 2015, Confirmtkt predicts the confirmation chances of a waitlisted ticket for travellers, apart from helping users to track the status of train in real time, coach positions, train schedule changes, and alternative train options. It also allows direct booking of train, bus, and air tickets through its mobile app.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, over 25 million people in India travelled by train every day, making this an $8-billion market. The resumption of train services and relaxation of lockdown norms have led to a quick recovery of reserved train ticketing to near pre-Covid levels, Ixigo said in a statement.
“We remain committed towards our joint vision of serving the underserved market segment and to become the first transactional touchpoint for millions of Indian travellers,” said Confirmtkt founders Dinesh Kumar Kotha and Sripad Vaidya.
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