MakeMyTrip India gets Rs 69 Cr from Mauritius-based parent Company

The development comes close on the heels of the online travel company pumping an undisclosed amount in Bengaluru-based Bitla Software.

Mauritius-based parent MakeMyTrip Limited Mauritius (company) pumped in Rs 69 crore into its India subsidiary, recent filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) reveals. In this calendar year, the Mauritius-based company has infused Rs 170 crore into its India subsidiary - MakeMyTrip India Private Limited.

The development comes close on the heels of the online travel company pumping an undisclosed amount in Bengaluru-based Bitla Software that provides bus travel management software and technology solutions.

The recent investment in Bitla Software is the sixth investment of MakeMyTrip in the technology space. Post its merger with Ibibo, the MakeMyTrip group, which is listed on Nasdaq, has been spending significantly on customer inducement and acquisition.

MakeMyTrip India contributes about 85 percent revenues to the Nasdaq-listed parent company MakeMyTrip. According to a recent filing by the company with Nasdaq, it said: “Marketing and sales promotion expenses increased by 19.1 percent to $93.9 million in the quarter ended March 31, 2018, from $78.8 million in the quarter ended March 31, 2017. Marketing and sales promotion expenses primarily include significant customer inducement and acquisition programme expenses incurred to accelerate growth in our standalone hotel booking business and brand advertisement expenses. The primary drivers of this year-over-year increase were the consolidation of marketing and sales promotion expenses of the Ibibo Group acquired on January 31, 2017.”

The increase in its marketing spend can be gauged by how both MakeMyTrip and Goibibo have been roping in Bollywood celebrities to up their ante in the growing OTA market. While Goibibo roped in Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone as its brand ambassador in 2017, MakeMyTrip brought in actors Alia Bhatt, Ranveer Singh and Diana Penty for its multi-TVC campaign.