Yatra fortifies its market position, acquires corporate travel business of PL Worldways

Strengthening its position and eliminating competition, Yatra Online, Inc. has taken over the corporate business of Chennai based offline travel service provider PL Worldways Ltd.

Keeping the financial details confidential, the company hinted at widening its grip in southern India. The acquisition will also aid the company in increasing its client count to 800, from the existing 700.

Dhruv Shringi, co-founder and chief executive of Yatra said, “With this acquisition, we not only strengthen our position in the growing corporate travel market in India but also in southern India, which has been in our cross-hairs for some time.”

Yatra will now help the offline business’s clients with self-booking online and expense management solutions, Shringi said.

PL Worldways, a fully-owned subsidiary of Peirce Leslie & Co, UK was formed in 1985. However, the history of the group can be traced back to pre-independence days of India. The company has 11 offices across the country, with more than 200 employees.

PL Worldways acquisition will complement Yatra’s technology, giving the online portal a local connect. The largest hotel network in the country can optimize its operations providing the clients a better process, mentioned Anil Pathak, chairman of PL Worldways.

Shringi, Manish Amin and Sabina Chopra were the three executives working for Ebookers Group (UK) who founded Yatra. Amin is the chief information officer and Chopra is the executive vice-president of operations. The company has its headquarters in Gurugram.

The revenue for the quarter ended September 2018 was higher for Yatra. Adjusted revenue was recoded at Rs 209.6 crore with a growth of 23.7% for the second quarter of the financial year 2018-19. Last year, it was Rs 169.4 crore. The air ticketing business brought a revenue increase of 14.4% to Rs 137.3 crore. Yatra is the second Indian online travel services provider in the US after MakeMyTrip.