Zomato likely to get $100m from China's Ctrip
Zomato likely to get $100m from China's Ctrip

Ctrip, China's largest travel-booking site, is in talks to invest around $100 million in online restaurant discovery and food-delivery platform Zomato.

The Nasdaq-listed Ctrip, Ant Financial (an Alibaba affiliate) and a couple of backers are likely to invest around $400 million, valuing the Gurgaon-based firm at $1.8-2 billion.

A person privy to the discussions said, "The discussions with Ctrip are in the last leg, with only the final amount yet to be decided. It is likely to be around $100 million. While the investment is purely financial, the two companies may explore synergies, which will be more strategic in nature going forward."

Having a market capitalisation of over $20 billion, Ctrip’s deal with Zomato will be significant as the company will invest first-time outside of travel services. Ctrip is ranked among the top four online travel agencies worldwide.

Two years ago, Ctrip had acquired Scottish travel site Skyscanner for $1.7 billion. The company also owns Tours4Fun, travel research site Trip.com and Trip by Skyscanner.

The deal will also be a significant move for the Gurgaon-based firm as it attempts to expand and grow aggressively in international markets.

 
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