Indonesia-based online travel agency Traveloka has secured a financing facility of $300 million.
The funds come from Indonesia Investment Authority (INA), BlackRock, Allianz Global Investors, Orion Capital Asia and other global financial institutions.
INA and Traveloka say the round attracted significant interest from a number of high-quality long-term capital providers, resulting in an oversubscribed transaction.
The investment will go toward supporting digital ecosystem growth in the travel sector and will allow the Indonesia-based OTA to grow further.
Ridha Wirakusumah, CEO of INA, says: “The pandemic has accelerated digital transformation. Customer behaviour changes coupled with innovative technological services mean digitisation will help drive economic recovery. Supporting the travel sector with their unparalleled convenience and access, online travel agencies have further transformed the industry landscape during the Covid-19 pandemic. For example, OTAs have seen their share of Indonesia’s gross tourism booking increase from 24% pre-pandemic to 33% in 2021 with an expectation to reach 36% by 2024.
“We are pleased about Traveloka’s financing round in collaboration with BlackRock, Allianz Global Investors and Orion and other leading global financial institutions, as it aligns with INA’s mission to create prosperity for Indonesia in the long term, by laying down the foundation for a sustainable digital ecosystem, including digital infrastructure, digital services and digital platforms — which will go a long way to drive economic recovery and growth.
“We believe that Traveloka is Indonesia’s national and regional champion and is also a key catalyst toward digitalisation of travel and accommodation in Indonesia and the region. We believe this joint investment can enable Traveloka to deepen its leadership and create value for the entire travel ecosystem.”
Celia Yan, head of Asian private credit at BlackRock, adds: “Traveloka is a strong leader in the online travel space in Southeast Asia, a region which has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. We are delighted to be the lead investor for this financing transaction as part of our dedicated private credit strategy to support Traveloka’s business growth.”
Sumit Bhandari, head of Asia private credit at Allianz Global Investors, says: “We are excited to be backing an execution-focused company like Traveloka; which has a demonstrated stellar track record and a very long runway ahead of them. We were very impressed with the way Traveloka navigated the crisis and are always keen to support such businesses and management which are resilient and built for the long term.”
Ming Eng, managing partner at Orion Capital Asia adds, “We are delighted to partner with Traveloka in its journey to deliver top-class travel and lifestyle offerings in Southeast Asia to meet the aspirations of the tech savvy population. We look forward to continuing to support Traveloka’s growth in the future.”
Ferry Unardi, CEO and co-founder of Traveloka, says: “We are very pleased to be able to add INA, BlackRock, Allianz Global Investors, Orion and others to our existing group of committed investors who believe in our vision to fulfil the travel and lifestyle aspirations of our users. As our business continues to accelerate while the industry emerges from the pandemic, this financing allows us an opportunity to further strengthen our balance sheet and enable us to continue to focus on our core business while also building for the future.”
Last month PTT Oil and Retail Business Public Company Limited said it was investing an undisclosed amount in Traveloka.
*This article originally appeared on WebinTravel