Indian travel booking platform Cleartrip is set to get a new owner.
Online retail ginat Flipkart, which is majority owned by Walmart, will reportedly pay about $40 million to acquire Cleartrip.
It will be a mix of cash and equity in a ‘distress sale’ due to difficulties Mumbai based Cleartrip has faced since the onset of the Covid pandemic.
Flipkart will retain the management team and workforce and allow Cleartrip to operate as an independent brand.
Cleartrip was founded 15 years ago and was once one of the major players in India’s online travel market but was overtaken by fast expanding firms such as MakeMyTrip.
Cleartrip was forced to lay off about 400 workers during the nationwide lockdown last year in India.
Flipkart offers travel and hotel bookings via partnerships and this acquisition will give it a direct presence in the online travel segment.
It is a dominant player in several online retail market segments in India and is worth about $20 billion.
