Yatra Online, a rapidly growing India-based online travel agent, and Terrapin 3 Acquisition Corporation, announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to combine in a transaction that values Yatra at an enterprise value of US$218 million. Yatra is one of the fastest growing consumer travel platforms and online travel agents in India with more than four million customers. TRTL is a special purpose acquisition company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, acquisition, or similar business combination. Yatra will be the surviving company in the transaction and intends to be listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol “YTRA” following completion of the transaction. The combined company will continue to be led by Yatra’s experienced management team under the leadership of chief executive and co-founder Dhruv Shringi.
Shringi said, “We are excited to partner with TRTL in a transaction that we believe will enable Yatra to continue its growth as a new public company. This transaction gives us substantial additional resources to support our growth and the continued improvement of our integrated online and mobile platforms. We look forward to expanding our already extensive network of domestic and international partnerships with hotels, airlines, car services, and tour package promoters, as well as further strengthening our brand presence and technology platform.”
Launched in August 2006, Yatra, through its yatra.com website, is a one-stop online shop for all travel-related services aimed at both leisure and business travelers in India. A leading consolidator of travel products, Yatra provides reservation connectivity for more than 60,000 hotels in India, a larger network than any other Indian online travel agent.
Nathan Leight, Chairman of the board of TRTL said, “We created TRTL with the express purpose of partnering with a company that would benefit from a public listing, could utilise our cash resources for growth and generate long-term returns for our shareholders. Yatra has the broadest brand recognition of any online travel agent in India. The infrastructure required to compete in India as an online travel agent represents a significant barrier to market entry. With its high level of brand recognition, large hotel network, significant investment in technology, and deep management experience in this sector, we believe Yatra has created tremendous competitive advantages. Not only is India one of the fastest growing economies in the world, business and leisure travel are among the fastest growing parts of its economy. Adding to that India’s tremendous socio-economic trends toward urbanisation and the rapid adoption of e-commerce and smartphone use by a population with increasing amounts of disposable income, we are excited about Yatra’s prospects. We believe our combination will provide substantial new resources to position the company for accelerated future growth.”
Yatra’s current key investors include leading US and Indian venture capital firms and Indian strategic investors. This group will continue to own approximately a third or more of Yatra upon the consummation of the business combination.
PromodHaque, Senior Managing Partner at Norwest Venture Partners, said, “We are delighted to have TRTL on board in combination with Yatra. This transaction will provide Yatra with significant resources to further strengthen its presence as one of the leading players in the fast growing Indian online travel market. We believe that the online travel market in India has a long runway of future growth with the key drivers of increasing prosperity, smartphone penetration and internet access across broad sections of the population. With its strong brand awareness and robust technology platform, Yatra is perfectly positioned to leverage the additional resources from this transaction to grow the business at an even faster pace going forward.”
