Hyderabad, April 1 (IANS) With cash reserves of $70 million, online portal MakeMyTrip is looking to acquire companies which can bring more value, its CEO and founder Deep Kalra said.
The Nasdaq-listed firm is looking to acquire companies in areas like supplier disintermediation, pilgrimage travel and niche travel technology. MakeMyTrip, which so far had five merger and acquisition deals, is keen to acquire companies which can bring it closer to customers.
Kalra was talking to reporters on the sidelines of an event here Monday to announce the company’s association with Sunrisers Hyderabad. It is the principal sponsor of the IPL franchise.
He said the company was very open about the ticket size of the acquisition. It is already getting many deals and is evaluating the same.
The leading travel company also announced its focus on the hotels business by extending its brand promise to ‘Hotels Unlimited’.
The company, which completed 13 years, runs online airline and hotel reservation and tour business in India and South East Asia. It currently has 10,000 hotels in India and 70,000 hotels internationally on its network.
“Our twin offerings of ‘Money-Back Guarantee’ and ‘Last-Minute Online Hotel Deals’ are targeted at building greater customer-confidence in booking hotels online. Last-Minute Hotel Deals service offers deep discounts for same-day hotel bookings. These are accessible both on the website as well as mobile devices,” Kalra said.
He expects good growth both on air and hotel side during 2013-14. The business from air accounts for 70 percent and the hotel and packages 30 percent.
“This move will continue towards hotels and packages. More and more growth will come from hotels and packages. Last eight or nine quarters we have been growing at 50 percent plus on the hotel side,” he said. Kalra hopes that the ratio of air and hotel will become 50:50 in two years.
Last year, the growth in hotel alone was over 100 percent in transaction terms while overall in hotels and packages it was 60 percent plus. “We are bullish on hotels and packages. Air industry will take some time to come back. By the end of the year, the air industry will be much healthier,” he said.
Kalra pointed out that besides domestic travel, the greatest growth is coming from South East Asia, Dubai and Middle East.
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