Flipkart In Talks To Acquire Majority Stake In Online Travel Aggregator Cleartrip: Report

Walmart backed e-commerce giant Flipkart is said to be in discussions to acquire a controlling stake in online travel aggregator platform Cleartrip as it looks to expand its offerings further in India, reports Moneycontrol.

If materialised, the deal will position Flipkart as a competitor to players like MakeMyTrip, Yatra, Booking.com and EaseMyTrip among others. This gains significance as it comes at a time when the domestic economy is rising back again.

“Negotiations are on and the proposed deal is for the sale of a majority stake in Cleartrip,” one of the persons with knowledge of the matter was quoted by MoneyControl as saying.

It should be noted that Cleartrip, which also has operations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Egypt has seen its financial health deteriorate due to the travel and border restrictions which came up globally following the COVID-19 pandemic's outbreak.

Before this, the sector had witnessed MakeMyTrip acquire rival Ibibo group in a $1.8 billion deal which took place in October 2016.