VC-backed Ola acquires smaller rival TaxiForSure
India's largest VC-backed taxi-booking service Ola has acquired its smaller rival TaxiForSure for $200 million in a cash and stock deal.
The transaction - which Ola confirmed via social networking site Twitter - will help the Indian start-up fend off its global rival Uber, and domestic competitor Meru, to secure a leading position in the Indian online taxi-booking market.
The news come just four months after Ola raised a $210 million in a Series D round of funding led by SoftBank with participation from existing investors Tiger Global, Matrix Partners India and Steadview Capital. According to LiveMint, this latest acquisition is likely to be followed by another round of funding.
TaxiForSure will continue to operate as a separate entity with co-founders Aprameya Radhakrishna and Raghunandan G. taking up advisory roles with the firm, and COO Arvind Singhal taking over as CEO. TaxiForSure's CFO Ganesh Venkataraman, and chief people officer Hari T.N., will both step down.
TaxiForSure, which was set up in 2011, raised a $30 million Series C round of investment led by Accel Partners in August of last year. The previous May it received a $10 million Series B round led by Bessemer Venture Partners and existing investors Accel, Helion Venture Partners and Blume Ventures. The Series A round place in early 2012.
Ola was also founded in 2011 by two alumni from the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai - Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati. The firm's platform allows customers to hire cabs that are either independently-owned or part of small rental outfits.
Bookings are handled by a call center but half of Ola's business is now transacted through a mobile app that allows real-time tracking by customers. Drivers carry a GPS-enabled Android device that also helps with navigation and billing.
Ola first received $5 million in Series A funding from Tiger Global in 2012. Then in 2013 Matrix led a Series B round - with participation from Tiger Global - said to be worth around $20 million. The $41 million Series C was provided by Sequoia Capital and Steadview.
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