Billionaire Gautam Adani’s Adani Group on Friday announced it will invest in Cleartrip Private Limited and acquire a significant minority stake in the online travel aggregator, which is a part of the Flipkart Group.
“Through this investment, the Adani Group and the Flipkart Group will benefit from synergies that will deliver superior travel experiences to consumers as the travel industry in India sees a resurgence. Since the acquisition by the Flipkart Group, Cleartrip has seen 10x growth in flight bookings,” the Adani Group said.
“Also, trends observed by Adani airports indicate that the number of passengers at airports has increased, reaching close to pre-covid highs. This partnership will further enable Cleartrip to transcend digital boundaries and bring end-to-end travel services online,” it added.
Here are 10 points about the Adani-Flipkart deal:
1. Adani Enterprises Ltd, Adani Group’s flagship, has agreed to acquire a “significant minority stake” in Cleartrip for an undisclosed sum, Adani said in an exchange filing Friday.
2. It expects deal to close in November this year, subject to customary closing conditions.
3. Buying into Cleartrip could boost the port-to-power conglomerate’s plans to roll out a super app as well as its airport management business. “The Cleartrip platform will become an essential part of the broader SuperApp journey we have embarked upon. We have a strongly developing relationship with Flipkart that spans multiple dimensions including data centers, fulfillment centers and now air travel,” Gautam Adani said in the statement.
4. The investment will further enhance the strategic partnership between the Adani Group and the Flipkart Group, as both parties work towards serving Indian consumers with a wide gamut of digital offerings. Cleartrip will also serve as the Adani Group’s OTA partner as part of the investment.
5. Cleartrip aims to provide consumers with a seamless travel experience and further accelerate its growth by collaborating with the Adani Group in areas such as travel-related products, loyalty programs and other value-added services, the statement added.
6. “We have a strongly developing relationship with Flipkart that spans multiple dimensions including data centres, fulfilment centers and now air travel,” said Gautam Adani. “It is such strategic partnerships among homegrown companies which will eventually create local jobs as well as an Atmanirbhar Bharat. The Cleartrip platform will become an essential part of the broader SuperApp journey we have embarked upon.”
7. “At the Flipkart Group, we are focused on delivering experiences for consumers and providing opportunities to help them fulfil their aspirations. As travel picks up over the next few months, Cleartrip will continue to focus on providing easy and flexible travel experiences for its customers,” Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Flipkart Group CEO, said.
8. The latest deal will also help Adani fight rival conglomerates that are building all-in-one e-commerce apps.
9. In April, Flipkart Online Services Pvt signed a pact with the Adani conglomerate to build one of the largest retail warehouses in India.
10. Adani Logistics Ltd is building a 534,000-square-feet fulfillment centre in Mumbai and will lease it to Flipkart.
