Ecommerce Marketplace Bibli Pockets Online Travel Agency Tiket

Indonesia-based ecommerce platform Bibli has acquired the online travel travel agency Tiket for an undisclosed amount.

Post the acquisition, George Hendrata will serve as the new CEO of Tiket.com. He replaces Jonggi Manalu, who was the former CEO.

As per an e27 report, Tiket will continue to operate independently through its own brand. Bibli will assist the latter with inventory management, sales programmes. It will also help with promotions and social media marketing, and human resource management.

Commenting on the development, Gaery Undarsa, co-founder and Chief Communications Officer, Tiket said, “We see that [the acquisition] is going to open up great opportunities for Tiket to grow exponentially … Looking at the potential and similarity in culture and business vision, we are so excited to join the Blibli family.

Tiket was founded in 2011 by Natali Ardianto, Wenas Agusetiawan, Dimas Surya Yaputra, and Mikhael Gaery Undarsa. It is an online travel agency (OTA). The startup has proven its position in Indonesia as a trusted online booking website for hotels, flights, and trains. It collaborates with almost 1,000 hotels across Indonesia. Additionally, it also collaborates with nine of Indonesia’s flight companies, serving domestic and international flights.

It is also the only other web portal where users can buy train tickets besides the official website issued by the Government.

In May 2017, Tiket was in talks of an acquisition by venture capital firm GDP Ventures. As per a DailySocial report, the VC firm planned to acquire more than 50% stake in the travel company.

Tiket Meets Bibli’s Latest Travel Offering

Bibli was also launched in 2011. The ecommerce marketplace currently offers 15 product categories, ranging across electronic goods to fashion. The company has entered the travel segment with the latest category Bibli Travel.

Kusumo Martanto, CEO, Bibli said, “Tiket.com has a great track record in business where it was able to grow in such a short time into one of the largest OTA in Indonesia.”

As per the above mentioned e27 report, it has also opened the possibility of expanding into new verticals and product lines after the acquisition. The company expects 2 – 2.5 times business growth too.

Bibli-owned Tiket currently faces competition from other Indonesian players including Traveloka, GoIndonesia, and PegiPegi among others.