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Yatra.com to acquire 100% stake in Travelguru
MUMBAI: Online travel company Yatra.com is set to make its fourth major acquisition in 18 months as it intends to buy 100 per cent stake in Travelguru, the Indian arm of US travel services provider Travelocity.
Yatra has investors like Network18, Norwest Venture Partners, Reliance Capital and Intel Capital.
The acquired entity will continue to operate as a separate unit under its existing brand name.
Yatra.com earlier bought out Travel Services International (TSI) in October 2010, MagicRooms in June 2011 and Buzzintown in January, 2012.
In October 2011, when Yatra.com acquired ticket consolidator Travel Services International (TSI), it strengthened its foray into the B2B consolidation space. Later, in July 2011 the portal acquired hotel aggregation company, MagicRooms, gaining access to a live inventory of over 3,000 hotels across India. Earlier this year in January, it took over event and entertainment promotion portal Buzzintown to expand its portfolio and give consumers the access to service beyond travel.
Through its latest acquisition, Yatra.com hopes to further fortify its position as the leading company in the Indian online travel space and will substantially extend its position as the premiere aggregator and seller of domestic hotels and holidays in India, adding to its already strong offerings for flights and outbound holidays.
Travelguru’s hotel distribution network in India offers access to more than 6,500 hotels in the country and close to 72,000 hotels worldwide. Travelguru facilitates a broad range of travel options and recommendations for domestic as well as international travelers.
Yatra.com co-founder and CEO Dhruv Shringis said, “Not only will this consolidation increase our customer base, but it also widens our product portfolio and leverages our ability to bundle solutions, offering better deals and value propositions to our customers. The acquisition will also provide Travelguru’s hotel partners with a much wider distribution network through Yatra.com and its B2B network of 10,000+ agents.”
Travelocity North America president Roshan Mendis said, “The two brands have obvious synergy and are an excellent fit. Moving forward, we will work closely with the Yatra.com team on a transition plan and an arrangement to source India hotel content for Travelocity Global so that our customers continue to have the best access to accommodation options in India.”
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
