MakeMyTrip acquires majority stake in Quick Ride
Deal terms were not disclosed.
MakeMyTrip has acquired a majority stake in Bengaluru-based shared mobility startup Quick Ride, marking its entry into the ride pooling segment. The acquisition will expand the travel platform’s ground transportation portfolio and strengthen its presence in daily urban commutes.
The financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed. Entrackr reported on October 19 that MakeMyTrip was in talks to acquire Quick Ride through its subsidiary redBus.
According to MakeMyTrip, Quick Ride’s ride pooling business and brand have undergone an internal restructuring and are now housed under a new entity, Co Ride Mobility Private Limited. MakeMyTrip has acquired the brand and its ride pooling business through a majority stake in this entity. Quick Ride’s promoters will continue to lead the business. The erstwhile EV taxi business will remain with the predecessor entity, iDisha Info Labs Private Limited.
Quick Ride, founded in 2015 by KNM Rao, is an asset-light mobility platform that connects people travelling along similar routes for car and bike pooling. It enables users to share rides for everyday commutes and offers services to corporate employees through partnerships with companies, IT parks and business campuses.
The platform aims to make commuting more affordable while reducing the number of vehicles on roads.
The acquisition will help MakeMyTrip establish a presence in high-frequency daily commutes within cities, alongside intercity travel. Its ground transport portfolio already includes redBus and Savaari, and the latest acquisition adds ride pooling to it.
Prakash Sangam, CEO of redBus and Head of Ground Transport at MakeMyTrip, said the acquisition will expand the company’s offerings across different travel needs. The platform sees an opportunity to serve the same customers across their daily office commutes and intercity journeys.
The acquisition is part of MakeMyTrip’s strategy to expand its presence across travel segments through acquisitions and strategic investments. In recent years, the company has acquired Savaari in the car rental segment, Happay in corporate travel and expense management, and Flamingo Transworld in regional group holiday packages. It has also made a strategic minority investment in visa processing platform Atlys.
Quick Ride has raised funding from investors including Sequoia Capital India (now Peak XV Partners), Naspers (now part of Prosus) and Venture Highway. In 2019, the company raised Rs 100.78 crore ($14.4 million) in a Series B round from its existing investors.
Rajesh Magow, Co-founder and Group CEO of MakeMyTrip, said the acquisition will help the company establish a presence in high-frequency daily commutes within cities, alongside intercity travel. He added that Quick Ride will be housed under MakeMyTrip’s ground transport business, which will leverage its experience in building redBus in India and overseas markets to scale the platform.
The company said the addition of Quick Ride will help it offer customers a wider range of travel options, from daily commutes to intercity journeys.
