SAIF, MakeMyTrip back Indian travel search engine

Following the transaction, SAIF and MakeMyTrip will own 56.7% and 19.9% of the company, respectively. Their entry allows the exit of Singapore-based BAF Spectrum, which provided seed funding to iXiGO in 2008.

Aloke Bajpai, founder-CEO of iXiGO, said that the funds would be used for product development across internet and mobile platforms and strengthening relationships with suppliers, online travel agencies, hotel aggregators, advertisers and content partners. A research report by PhoCusWright found that more than 40% of internet users in India visited iXiGO in the fourth quarter of 2010, a 45% year-on-year increase in unique visitors, according to Livemint.

"Online travel remains the leading growth driver of e-commerce and online advertising in India. We're glad to be backing a passionate team with a proven track record of innovation & productled growth in this space," Ravi Adusumalli, managing partners and head of Indian operations at SAIF Partners, said in a statement.

iXiGO was founded in 2007 by Bajpai and his fellow Amadeus alumni Rajnish Kumar and Dharmendra Yashovardhan, as well as the Indian Institutes of Technology and INSEAD. It searches airlines, hotels, trains, bus booking sites and online travel portals for the best travel deals - much like its Chinese meta-search counterpart Qunar, which sold a majority stake to search engine Baidu or $306 million earlier this year.

SAIF, which has around $4 billion in assets under management and seeks to invest in early-stage and growth-stage businesses, was an early backer of MakeMyTrip. SAIF made four capital injections in the company to 2007, building a 51.3% stake. MakeMyTrip listed on NASDAQ in August 2010, raising $70 million through its IPO. The stock then soared 90% on its trading debut.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Consumer
• Media
• Early-stage
• SAIF Partners