Whether it’s about purchasing a company for its technological innovations or for expansion, acquisition deals are getting smarter every year. In 2019, the Indian startup ecosystem saw some significant M&A activity, topped by Reliance’s acquisition of 11 startups.
With over 86 deals in total, Reliance emerged as the biggest deal maker with 11 M&A deals in its pocket. Nazara technologies come a close second with three acquisitions so far. But, the seemingly large number of deals is still down by 27% from the previous year. Following are some of the most prominent startup acquisition deals of 2019.
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Top 5 Acquisitions of 2019 in India
1. Yatra acquired by Ebix for $337.8 Mn.
Ebix is on an acquisition spree in India. In 2017, Ebix acquired itzCash for around $124 Mn. Last year, it acquired ‘Leisure Corp’ and ‘Mercury Travels’. Since 2017, Ebix has bought more than a dozen companies across various sectors.
With Yatra’s acquisition, Ebix is looking to strengthen its hold in India’s highly lucrative hotel and flight ticket booking market. Ebix provides software solutions for insurance, healthcare, and financial industries. At $337 Mn, Yatra is by far the biggest acquisition of Ebix in India. Yatra will continue to operate independently, retaining its status and brand in India.
2. Cloud Cherry acquired by Cisco for $16 million.
Cisco acquired cloud Cherry in October 2019. Founded by Vinod Muthukrihnan in 2014, Cloud Cherry specializes in developing retention management tools to enhance user experience and interactions on websites. With this acquisition, Cisco is looking to leverage this Customer Experience Management (CEM) platform to deliver a high ROI to their clients.
3. Innov8 acquired by OYO for INR 220 Cr
Founded by Ritesh Malik, Innov8 is a co-working startup. The World’s third largest hospitality chain OYO has acquired Innov8 in March 2019 in an all-cash deal of approximately $31 Mn (INR 220 Crores). OYO was founded by Ritesh Agarwal – one of the Top Entrepreneurs in India.
Since its inception in 2015, Innnov8 has raised over $4 Mn from investors, including LetsVenture, Credence Family Office, Venture Catalysts, Rajan Anandan Girish Mathrubootham, and Vijay Shekhar Sharma (one of the highest paid tech CEO in India), among others. The founder, Ritesh Malik, and his team will continue to work as usual at Innov8.
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4. CRIDS acquired by Sachin Bansal for $104 Mn
The former CEO of Flipkart (one of the earliest Unicorn companies in India), Sachin Bansal, has invested $104 Mn in Financial service company CRIDS (Chaitanya Rural Intermediation Development Services Private Company). CRIDS is a non-banking finance company and provides financial assistance to the audience that may not fit for the formal market. CRIDS currently provides services in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.
5. Wibmo acquired by PayU for $70 Mn.
PayU acquired Cupertino and Bengaluru based startup Wibmo in April 2019 for $70 Mn. Wibmo provides various digital payment technology solutions such as 3D secure processes, One-time passwords functionality to authenticate digital payments. Founded in 1999, Wibmo is certified by Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, Visa, MasterCard, and RuPay. Post-acquisition, Wibmo aims to build a world-class digital payment system for a flawless payment experience.
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