After acquiring Bookmycab in March, Pune-based travel and transport firm Wings Travels is now close to acquiring another startup in the staff transportation technology space.

“Discussions and negotiations are already in progress and we should be able to close the same within 60 days as the trials are on,” the company’s Founder Director, Arun Kharat said. The company is also in the process of raising $15 million from global venture capital funds, however, the acquisition will be paid for through its internal accruals.

Wings Travels has appointed BDO India LLP as a consultant to help raise the funds, which will be through promoter stake dilution. The funding deal is likely to be closed in the next few weeks. The amount will be used within 90 days for its overseas setup, advertising, promotion and marketing.

The company has already started operating its rent-a-cab app in Thailand and Myanmar and soon plans to launch its services in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Mauritius, where it has acquired regulatory approvals.

Founded in 2001, Wings Travels currently operates in Mumbai, Pune, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Nagpur, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad, among others. It primarily offered staff transport services to business process outsourcing firms. In March this year, Wings Travels acquired taxi aggregator Bookmycab for an undisclosed amount to help its expand into the radio taxi segment and strengthen its technological capabilities. The combined entity has now been rebranded as Wings Bookmycab, run by Bookmycab's parent Mumbai­-based LiveMinds Technologies Pvt Ltd.

Wings Travels competes with the likes of Meru and Carzonrent. It has several brands including Wings Radio Cabs, Wings Premium and Ultra (luxury cars), Economy, Sakhi (driven by women, for women passengers), Ekab rentals, Bus Pool, Talk of the town, a quarterly magazine, Lanna Wellness, a spa in Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad and Wings Rainbow, a radio taxi service for the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community in Mumbai, which will start operations next year.

Image Source: ShutterStock
Advertisements

Post a Comment

Previous Post Next Post
Like this content? Sign up for our daily newsletter to get latest updates.