StanChart’s PE arm to buy Naspers’ stake in travel firm TBO

An official statement said Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE) will acquire Naspers’ stake in TBO Group, a business to business travel distribution company.

It said Naspers had acquired the stake in 2012. An August 2017 news report said Naspers owns 52 per cent in the company and was seeking an enterprise valuation of Rs 300 crore for TBO.

TBO group has a revenue of USD 1 billion and employs 650 people of 26 nationalities, including 200 in research and development.

SCPE India’s MD Udai Dhawan said the 2006-founded TBO, which has operations in 90 countries, is profitable and offers a scalable business model. TBO group’s co-founder Ankush Nijhawan said SCPE’s network and business planning expertise will help it strengthen position as a leading B2B travel distribution player globally.

Gaurav Bhatnagar, also a co-founder, said the B2B travel distribution landscape is ripe for consolidation and TBO can “drive” it with help from SCPE.

Naspers’ chief executive for B2C e-commerce, Oliver Rippel, said it is “rewarding” to see how the business has grown in the last six years since it invested in it.