Five new partners of Skyscanner are collectively investing £128 million (US$192 million) in the global search engine.
The investment from Artemis (global fund manager), Baillie Gifford (independent investment manager based in Edinburg), Khazanah Nasional Berhad (sovereign wealth fund of the Malaysian government), Vitruvian Partners (leading Europen investor), and Yahoo! JAPAN (venture partner in Skyscanner Japan) includes both primary and secondary proceeds.
Gareth Wiliams: Exciting time ahead.
The incoming investors will acquire an undisclosed share of Skyscanner, and also join SEP and Sequoia as the company’s investment partners:
Skyscanner said in a statement the fresh funding “will support the company’s strategy and accelerate its rapid growth in the £332 billion online travel market. In addition, it expands Skyscanner’s access to additional sources of expertise and different virtual and geographic marketplaces around the world.”
Commenting on the investment Gareth Williams, Skyscanner CEO, said: “Skyscanner has enjoyed high double digit growth rates for some years now, and has been profitable since 2009. This success is thanks to our 1,200 direct partner relationships, the trust of the 50 million travellers who use us every month, our technology and the dedication of our teams to deliver the best experience for travellers possible.
“This financing round and our recent new hires allow us to build fantastic further tools for travellers. I’d like to thank SEP and Sequoia for their belief in us and also welcome our new investors to the team. We have so much more to do together – it’s an exciting time.”
