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Online Travel Company MakeMyTrip exits IPO bound Travel App Ixigo with 8x Returns

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MakeMyTrip has exited ixigo, an IPO-bound travel app, according to Nasdaq filings to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, clocking 8x returns on its initial investment.

According to a source, the secondary transaction was worth $38.5 million, with investors including Trifecta Leaders Fund-1, Bay Capital, Malabar Investments, and White Oak purchasing its stake. The money from a secondary share sale does not go into the company's coffers, but rather to those who exit.

The news comes after Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar's travel platform raised $53 million (Rs 395 crore) in a mix of primary and secondary share sales last month. GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, led the round, with Infoedge Venture Funds, White Oak, Bay Capital, Orios Venture Partners, Trifecta Capital, and Malabar Investments also participating.

“On August 9, 2021, we completed the sale of our entire equity investment in the securities of an unlisted entity for a total cash consideration of $38.5 million and recorded a gain on sale of $33.1 million, net of transaction related costs, which will be reflected in our financial results for the six months ending September 30,” MakeMyTrip said on Monday, without specifically naming ixigo.

MakeMyTrip had invested $4.8 million in ixigo at the start.

According to sources, Deep Kalra, the founder of MakeMyTrip, has stepped down from ixigo's board of directors following the sale. “The realignment in the cap table comes ahead of the company's proposed IPO,” said a source with direct knowledge of the development.Ixigo is aiming for a valuation of $750-$800 million for its IPO scheduled for the fourth quarter of the current calendar year.

ixigo, which was founded in 2007, has over 250 million users. Earlier this year, the company paid an undisclosed sum for the acquisition of Bengaluru-based online train discovery and booking platform Confirmtkt. Last week, the company announced the slump sale of AbhiBus, a Hyderabad-based bus ticketing and aggregation platform, for a mix of cash and ixigo equity shares.