MakeMyTrip to Acquire Happay, Boosting Corporate Travel Services

Online travel company MakeMyTrip has announced its plan to acquire Happay, an expense management platform, from the fintech giant CRED. The deal will see MakeMyTrip enhance its corporate travel and expense management offerings, with an aim to solidify its leadership in this growing segment. The acquisition is expected to be finalized within the next 90 days.

The acquisition includes the Happay brand, its expense management business, and its dedicated team, which will transition to MakeMyTrip. Happay’s payments division, along with its recently launched B2B payments solutions, Bharat Connect will remain with CRED.

Happay, founded in 2012 by Anshul Rai and Varun Rathi, simplifies corporate expense management by streamlining business spending, reimbursements, and tracking. It currently serves over 900 corporate clients and was acquired by CRED in 2021 for $180 million.

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Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip said, “We have consistently outpaced industry growth in the corporate travel sector over the past few years by focusing on innovation and seamless user experience.” 

He added, “The acquisition of Happay’s brand and expense management platform is a natural next step in our strategy to lead this space. By integrating Happay’s expertise, which spans over 900 corporate clients, MakeMyTrip is set to redefine the benchmarks once again in corporate travel and expense management in India.”

Kunal Shah, Co-Founder of CRED also said, “Our focus at CRED is on developing products that enable financial progress. By enabling each vertical to play to its strengths, we’re positioning both teams - who’ve built market-leading products and capabilities - to scale in their domains. I’m excited about the payments team’s opportunity to transform the B2B payments experience into one that’s frictionless, reliable, and set for rapid growth.”

MakeMyTrip is India’s leading online travel company, owning popular brands like Goibibo and RedBus. The platform offers a wide range of services, including air ticketing, hotel bookings, holiday packages, bus and rail ticketing, etc.

In the corporate segment, MakeMyTrip serves over 59,000 small and medium-sized businesses through its MyBiz platform and more than 450 large enterprises via Quest2Travel. The company had reported a 24.3% increase in revenue for Q2 of this fiscal year, reaching $211 million. Its profit for the same period rose significantly to approximately $18 million, compared to $2 million in the previous fiscal year.

In Conclusion

The acquisition of Happay by MakeMyTrip represents a strategic leap to dominating the corporate travel and expense management market. With its extensive client base and expertise in travel services, combined with Happay’s innovative expense solutions, MakeMyTrip is set to deliver unmatched value to its customers. This deal not only strengthens MakeMyTrip’s position but also enables CRED to focus on revolutionizing the B2B payments space, creating a win-win scenario for both companies.