Naspers, the South Africa-based multimedia giant, is reportedly likely to acquire a controlling stake in RedBus, the India-based online ticketing company valued at approximately US$100 million.
No official statements have been issued by either side concerning the acquisition.
According to a report by the Economic Times, RedBus operates close to bus terminals from “nondescript” buildings. The ticketing company has created two cloud software programmes, which were developed in-house and sold to travel agents and bus operators.
“They have a dominant leadership in online bus ticketing, which is a tougher game of aggregation compared to air travel ticketing. In the internet world, the winner takes it all,” the Economic Times quoted Deepak Srinath, an advisor on fundraising for digital enterprises from Allegro Capital, as saying.
Alok Mittal, managing director of Canaan Partners told the Economic Times the online ticketing space might not allow the scaling up of multiple industry players.
“Keeping in mind the low margins, and inventory availability being limited, there are quite a few challenges to growth. Consolidation is imminent in this space,” said Mittal.
