Leading global growth equity investor, General Atlantic has agreed to acquire a minority stake in TBO Tek Ltd (TBO) from entities held by Affirma Capital.
Affirma Capital will retain its investment in the company following this transaction.
Managing director of General Atlantic, Shantanu Rastogi said, "Gaurav, Ankush and the entire TBO team have pursued a clear mission to simplify travel sales in a growing and increasingly diverse traveler environment."
"They have been focused on building a unique technology platform that is able to deliver discovery, trust, payments and services to its suppliers and buyers. We see immense potential in the path ahead for TBO, including global expansion opportunities, and are excited to partner with the company to help enable the next generation of travel globally," he further added.
Founded in 2006, Travel Boutique Online (TBO), India's foremost travel distribution platform, has been empowering partners for over a decade now, facilitating efficient customer service with precise pricing and inventory.
Their services include White Label Solutions, Hotel and Flight Booking APIs, Sightseeing Tours, Insurance Coverage, Packages, and a recent expansion into Mobile App Development. Their operational framework helps agents to effectively meet the diverse needs of customers on a daily basis.
The company's platform offers buyers a seamless, all-in-one solution, supporting multiple currencies and languages, to help them book travel destinations worldwide.
With 100,000+ Travel Buyers, 21 offices nationwide, 2000+ White Label/API customers globally, and integration with 60+ hotel suppliers, TBO has emerged as a reliable travel distribution platform in the travel industry.
The company operates across major metro cities of India like New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata, delivering a diverse range of travel solutions to agents and tour operators nationwide.
TBO has achieved a Gross Transaction Value of USD 2.73 billion and a Net Profit of more than USD 17 million for FY23, with its presence spanning over 100+ countries.
The company's commitment can be recognized through the prestigious awards they've achieved, like the "Best Online B2B Travel Portal - East India 2016" and "The World's Greatest Brands 2015-16", fueled by the continuous support of partners.
Gaurav Bhatnagar and Ankush Nijhawan, co-founders of TBO said, "TBO’s strategy is underpinned by our focus on amplifying platform value by growing our user base and lines of business, and through leveraging our deep technology and data capabilities to enhance the buyer experience and supplier engagement."
"We are grateful to Affirma Capital, who have supported us immensely during the last five years, including during the COVID pandemic, and have been true value-add partners in our scale-up journey so far. We believe that General Atlantic, with their long-standing history of helping technology companies build enduring models, is an ideal partner for this stage of our growth journey. We are thrilled to have their backing and look forward to leveraging their expertise," he added.
“Since our investment in 2018, we have witnessed TBO’s transformational journey to becoming one of the leading travel technology platforms globally, creating meaningful value for its shareholders along the way, as has been crystallized in Affirma Capital’s multi-fold return on investment as part of this transaction," said Udai Dhawan, Founding Partner and Head of India at Affirma Capital.
He further added that, "TBO is on the cusp of consolidating the travel technology landscape, and we continue to believe in its potential to aggregate and digitize travel for travel partners across the globe and are excited to continue to retain a significant minority stake in the business."
Reference:
https://www.generalatlantic.com/about-us/
https://www.travelboutiqueonline.com/
https://www.travelboutiqueonline.com/about-us.aspx
https://growjo.com/company/General_Atlantic
https://trendlyne.com/ipo/detail/1389/tbo-tek-ltd/
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/travelboutiqueonline https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Atlantic