Naspers' subsidiary ibiboGroup acquires redBus.in

NEW DELHI, INDIA: ibiboGroup which owns a travel website www.goibibo.com, has acquired redBus.in, a website which sells online bus tickets for an undisclosed amount.

redBus.in is owned by Pilani Soft Labs Pvt. Ltd.

The combined volumes of redBus.in and ibiboGroup's existing travel assets makes the group, one of the biggest online travel players in India, said a company release.

Phanindra Sama, Co-Founder & CEO of redBus.in said, "Naspers' belief in internet industry and operating experience in multiple countries will help redBus grow into a renowned brand in the coming years."

All the travel entities of ibiboGroup (MIH India), including redBus.in, will continue to run independently and operate as separate businesses to drive deep focus, said ibibo and further added, "The founders and management teams of each of these entities will continue to build out their businesses."

Commenting on the acqusition, Ashish Kashyap, CEO of ibiboGroup said, "Our key motivations to acquire redBus are strong management, founding team, significant leadership and market share of redBus in the online bus ticketing space."

"Online penetration of the bus market is only 5.7 per cent compared to 28 per cent for air travel, suggesting headroom for rapid future growth," added Kashyap.

redBus.in, founded by Phanindra Sama in 2006 offers online bus ticketing platform by all metrics : sales, transaction volumes and available inventory.