Travelier has acquired online bus ticketing platform DeÔnibus for an undisclosed amount.
The acquisition of the Brazil-based company boosts Travelier’s (formerly Bookaway) position in Latin America.
DeÔnibus was founded in 2012 as “Brazil by bus” and raised $700,000 from venture capital firm ACE Ventures and angel investors.
The company has more than 300 bus operators on its platform and serves 30 million travelers annually, according to a statement.
DeÔnibus is not the first acquisition in Latin America for Israel-based Travelier. The company acquired Plataforma 10, an Argentina-based online company focused on ground transport, just over two years ago. It also acquired transport management system Sisorg.
Travelier has also made acquisitions in Asia Pacific and the Balkans. A year ago, the company said it was creating a technology hub called Boost for ground and sea transportation.
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Travelier sees significant opportunity for growth in online bus ticketing in Brazil with the market generating more than $2 billion annually. While half of all international travel purchases are made online in the country, less than a third (30%) of bus ticket purchases are made online.
“The bus travel market in Brazil has been going through changes in recent years, influenced by travelers’ new purchasing habits, digitalization and modernization of the sector, and regulatory changes,” said Breno Moraes, co-founder and CEO of DeÔnibus. “Internet sales penetration has been growing fast year after year and is expected to exceed 50% of total sales in the next two to three years. When we started in 2012, the internet sales represented about 3% of sales.”
Noam Toister, co-founder and CEO of Travelier, said, “We have looked into the Brazilian market for quite some time, evaluating the landscape, the players and the potential.”
Travelier has raised $80 million across three rounds with the most recent being its Series C of $35 million announced two years ago.
