Mumbai: Mobile travel search firm ixigo said on Friday that it has acquired all intellectual property of Desi Backpacking Travelers Pvt. Ltd, the company that runs IndianBackpacker.com, for an undisclosed amount.
This is the first acqui-hiring deal for ixigo.
Acqui-hiring is the process by which one company acquires another to gain access to its employees. In such an acquisition, the acquiring company may or may not have any interest in the target company’s products and services.
As a part of the deal, Akshay Chhugani, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Indian Backpacker, will join ixigo as head, traveller communities.
“As a part of ixigo’s vision of simplifying the lives of Indian travellers, we want to build a strong connect with communities of travellers who possess a shared passion, purpose or taste. Akshay has travelled extensively through India on a shoestring budget and has mastered the art of spending less and travelling more in terms of budget accommodation, destinations and experiences,” said Aloke Bajpai, co-founder and chief executive officer at ixigo.
“At ixigo, he will be responsible to build and nurture curated communities of travellers across interest areas. We look forward to building an authentic Indian traveller community and curate deep knowledge of offbeat destinations and niche travel experiences.”
Chhugani of IndianBackpacker.com said there is a clear opportunity to build a community platform that enhances engagement and provides authentic and unbiased curated content for Indian travellers.
ixigo recently received an investment from smartphone manufacturer Micromax and is looking to grow five-fold to reach over 30 million monthly active mobile users by the end of 2016.
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