Prosus books Ixigo board seat, buys 10% for Rs 1.3k crore

MUMBAI: Dutch investor Prosus has picked up a 10.1% stake in Ixigo parent Le Travenues Technology for $146 million (Rs 1,296 crore), marking its first investment in a listed company, an exchange filing by the Gurugram-based online travel booking company on Friday showed.

Ixigo has allotted shares to Prosus at an issue price of Rs 280 per share, which is at a nearly 11% discount to its closing price of Rs 313 on the BSE on Thursday. The deal values the company at about $1.4 billion. Ixigo, which debuted on exchanges in June last year and competes with players such as MakeMyTrip and Flipkart's Cleartrip will use the capital to fund organic and inorganic growth opportunities, working capital needs and general corporate purposes.

Prosus will also acquire additional stake in the travel tech company through secondary transactions taking its total shareholding up to 16%, according to sources and earlier disclosures filed by Ixigo. In a secondary stake sale, a company's shares change hands among investors and there is no fund infusion into the firm.

"With our proven track record of profitable growth through investment in high growth markets and long-term focus on the India ecosystem, we are excited at the opportunity to enable the best AI-first customer experience for the next billion travellers in the country," Prosus said in a statement.

The number of Indians travelling are on the rise, broadening the market scope for companies who are betting on AI to offer differentiated experiences to consumers. On Friday, Ixigo shares closed higher at Rs 319 apiece on the BSE. Ixigo will deploy portions of the capital to fuel AI capabilities as the tech tool rapidly changes the way companies expand and run businesses.