Makemytrip invested in AI-based travel app ixigo in 2011. The app was launched in 2007 by Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar and its investors include Sequoia Capital and Elevation Capital.
A decade after its initial investment, Deep Kalra-led Makemytrip, one of the early backers of AI-based travel app ixigo, has exited the IPO-bound firm and pocketed a neat return, multiple industry sources with knowledge of the matter told Moneycontrol.
“Makemytrip has recently sold its entire stake to a clutch of new investors in ixigo. They have made a return of 8x on their original investment,” one of the persons cited above told Moneycontrol.
According to a second person, the buyers include Trifecta Leaders Fund-1, Bay Capital, Malabar Investments and White Oak.
A third person told Moneycontrol that Deep Kalra had stepped down from ixigo which is scheduled to file its DRHP (draft red herring prospectus) shortly with market regulator SEBI.
The sale consideration was for $38.5 million, he added. Makemytrip had invested $4.8 million in ixigo in 2011.
All the three persons cited above spoke to Moneycontrol on condition of anonymity.
In a recent disclosure to the SEC, Nasdaq-listed Makemytrip said, “On August 9, 2021, we completed the sale of our entire equity investment in the securities of an unlisted entity (classified under “Other investments” in our statement of financial position), for a total cash consideration of $38.5 million and recorded a gain on sale of $33.1 million, net of transaction related costs, which will be reflected in our financial results for the six months ending September 30, 2021.”
In response to an email query from Moneycontrol, Makemytrip confirmed that Deep Kalra had stepped down from the board of ixigo and directed us to the 6-k SEC disclosure above. Deep Kalra was not available for immediate comment.
We are awaiting an email response from Trifecta Leaders Fund-1, Bay Capital, Malabar Investments, White Oak and ixigo and will update this article as soon as we hear from the firms.
ixigo was launched in 2007 by Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar and its major investors include Sequoia Capital and Elevation Capital (formerly Saif Partners).
XIGO: AHEAD OF THE IPO
On July 27, 2021, Moneycontrol had broken the story of a pre-IPO funding round in ixigo by a consortium of investors led by GIC, Info Edge, Malabar Investments and White Oak Capital. Orios Venture Partners, Bay Capital and Trifecta Capital were also part of the consortium.
Moneycontrol was also the first to report that ixigo was planning to go public in 2021 and was looking to raise Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 1,800 crore via the proposed IPO in a story dated April 5.
Recently, Ixigo had announced the buyout of Hyderabad-based bus ticketing and aggregation platform AbhiBus. This was the firm’s second acquisition in 2021 post the acquisition of train booking app Confirmtkt in February 2021.It also beefed up its board with 6 new independent members which included executives from the travel and hospitality space like former IRCTC chairman and managing director Pratap Mall, Hopper founder Frederic Lalonde and Hamstede Living MD & CEO Rahul Pandit.
