Redbus.in acquired for $138M

Redbus is a fantastic company and a true example to Indian entrepreneurs. I remember being at a meeting with Phanindra Sama (the CEO) and when asked why he didn't ask bus operators to sign an exclusive agreement with him, he replied that even if he had that in hand, if he didn't provide value, things would break down. Imagine if craigslist was run this way!

He had also mentioned car rental and hotels as potential future markets 5-10 years down the line, and I hope this acquisition enables him to pursue those fragmented markets!

As a regular user of Redbus.in at my small firm, I have been a huge fan of what they've managed to accomplish with what is essentially a chaotic delivery layer. Big ups to the team at Redbus. Keep on truckin' :)

For those that don't know, Naspers also owns 35% of Tencent. They are heavily investing in internet companies in emerging markets.

This is good startup story for India. Exits in India are rare but not unheard of, as claimed by article. There are some Indian company products acquired without creating much buzz here. For example, Pramati's Qontext acquired by Autodesk. Yasu acquired by SAP. UserRules acquired by some company(not sure)

Congrats to the Redbus guys. They were the team that got selected for the TiE EAP program in 2008 where I had pitched my idea too. Amazing to see that in 5 years, they've built a company that's worth 138M. Awesome stuff!

congrats to redbus, seems like a big exit for a Indian firm. Though relatively to Flupkart, the presence of redbus, hasn't been felt till now. Lets hope it changes.

thats good news.hope they will continue delivering quality bus booking service.

From what is being divulged, and from the fact that Phani is suddenly a former CEO, not 'current until', during the time of the deal this seems more like a distress sale or a forced one. Hope this is not true, but so it seems.

Redbus was a splendid initiative and I have experienced bus ticketing on it myself. Must congratulate the team that brought it so far... it's not an easy journey given the thick and thin of internet in India.