Wego acquires Flipkart's Cleartrip

Bengaluru: Wego, an online travel marketplace in the Middle East has signed an agreement with Flipkart Group to acquire Cleartrip's Middle East business.

Wego is one of the largest online travel marketplaces in the Middle East and North Africa regions and is backed by Tiger Global Management, Crescent Point, Square Peg Capital, Middle East Venture Partners and the MBC Group. Its headquarters are in Dubai and Singapore. Cleartrip had organically expanded into the middleeast region in 2010.

Cleartrip and Flyin are both product-driven companies with best-in-class OTA technology that have established strong brands and strong positions across the Middle East. We are excited to welcome Cleartrip Middle East and Flyin into the Wego group, said Ross Veitch, CEO and cofounder of Wego.

The opportunity in travel tech for India is vast, and through Cleartrip, we have been able to provide our customers with a wide range of travel experiences and deeper value, said Ravi Iyer, senior vice president and head - corporate development, at Flipkart. Given our strategic priorities and focus on the Indian market, the acquisition of Cleartrip's Middle East business by Wego provides continuity to its business, and we believe that they are the right partners to boost its next phase of growth, he added.

Founded in 2006, Cleartrip was acquired by Flipkart in April 2021 as part of distress sale. The coronavirus outbreak had severely impacted the travel and hospitality industry. The company had to let go off 400-500 employees in the peak of the pandemic in 2020, when the travel industry was completely shut.