SCPE buys stake in India travel business from Naspers
Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE) has invested an undisclosed amount in Indian online travel company Travel Boutique Online (TBO) to acquire a stake held by South African internet conglomerate Naspers.
TBO operates on a business-to-business model, offering transportation, hotel rooms and travel insurance to travel agents. Its online platform is used by travel agents in 78 countries and provides access to more than 350,000 hotels. It also operates a mobile app that allows agents to send travel itineraries directly to customers’ mobile phones.
According to a statement, SCPE plans to drive TBO’s growth by leveraging its global network and business planning expertise. The size of SCPE’s acquisition has not been disclosed, but last year Indian media reported that Naspers held a 52% stake in the company and was looking to sell its holding at a valuation of INR3 billion ($43 million).
TBO was founded in 2006, and Naspers made its first investment in the company in 2012. The conglomerate has backed a number of Indian technology companies, including online travel agent ibibo Group, which merged with US-listed rival MakeMyTrip in 2016. It is also an investor in online food ordering and delivery platform Swiggy.
Naspers saw a significant exit from its India portfolio earlier this year when Walmart purchased a 77% stake in e-commerce business Flipkart for $16 billion. The South African company sold its entire 11.2% stake in Flipkart for $2.2 billion, generating an IRR of approximately 32%.
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