MakeMyTrip to acquire Happay from CRED, eyes corporate travel leadership

Online travel company MakeMyTrip said on Monday that it will acquire Happay Expense Management Platform from CRED.

With the acquisition, MakeMyTrip aims to become the go-to platform for comprehensive corporate travel and expense management solutions.“We have consistently outpaced industry growth in the corporate travel sector over the past few years by focusing on innovation and seamless user experience,” MakeMyTrip said in a statement.

Founded in 2012 by Anshul Rai and Varun Rathi, Happay, an expense management platform that streamlines corporate spending, reimbursements, and expense tracking for businesses, was acquired by CRED in 2021 in a deal worth $180 million.

As per the deal agreement, the Happay brand, its expense management business, and its dedicated team will transition to MakeMyTrip.

Happay’s payments business and team, which has focused on developing an innovative technology stack and business payments products, will remain with CRED.

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

“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,” he said.

The deal is expected to be completed within the next 90 days.

CRED founder Kunal Shah 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 brands

MakeMyTrip, which owns and operates online brands, including MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, and RedBus, offers services like air ticketing, hotel and alternative accommodations, holiday planning and packages, rail ticketing, bus ticketing, car hire, forex services among others. It posted a 24 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue to $211 million in the second quarter of this fiscal year, while its profit increased to $17.9 million from $2 million in the year-ago period.

According to the statement, MakeMyTrip is now serving more than 59,000 corporate clients via MyBiz (a platform suited for small and medium-sized corporates) and more than 450 large corporates through Quest2Travel (a platform suited for large enterprises).