Europe’s Omio buys Rome2Rio for $40m

Australian travel tech start-up Rome2Rio has been sold to European rival Omio for $40m.

Rome2Rio founders Michael Cameron and Bernie Tschirren Picture: Stuart McEvoy

Australian travel tech start-up Rome2Rio has been sold to European rival Omio for $40m, capping a nine-year journey for two former Microsoft executives who started the company in their proverbial garage.

The acquisition means Omio will integrate Rome2Rio’s multi-modal trip-planning technology into its online booking platform. Under the deal, Rome2Rio’s 40 full-time engineers will stay in Melbourne and the start-up’s brand, technology and team will continue to operate as a separate entity.

“This has been in the works for about a year. (Co-founder) Bernie (Tschirren) and I always thought the eventual exit would be a trade sale,” CEO and co-founder Michael Cameron said.

“We’re a tech and a product company at heart, so it made sense for us to join forces with a business that could use the tech and product, and take it to another level.

“It made perfect sense for Omio to be the ones we would join forces with. The business is nine years old now, it’s been a fantastic journey but it seemed like the right time to find a home for the business so it can continue to grow here in Melbourne and get new expertise that allows it to keep growing.”

Board member and former Microsoft and Google executive Hugh Williams described the deal as a significant one for Melbourne’s start-up ecosystem.

“Michael and Bernie worked phenomenally hard and didn’t take much money out of the business, and now they get the just rewards of building a great tech company,” he said.

“They can go now and build their next company, and get the snowball going like Atlassian did for Sydney.”

Omio CEO and founder Naren Shaam said Rome2Rio’s team had built a great product with innovative tech and impressive growth.

“Together, our two brands will reach half a billion users every year and offer access to thousands of transportation operators globally, helping us to deliver our vision to solve consumer travel globally,” he said.

The deal has sparked unrest among some who say the company should have been valued higher. Rod Cuthbert, who was ousted from the company’s board, described the acquisition as a “fabulous deal for Omio”.

“As a shareholder I would have preferred to wait longer, not just for me but for staff, who I think were really enjoying the idea of chasing a big exit, and all the excitement and satisfaction that comes with that sort of outcome,” he said.

“I hope Omio keeps the Rome2Rio brand intact — it’s well respected around the world.”

Ross Veitch, the CEO and co-founder of global travel booking site WeGo, said Rome2Rio had created valuable IP. “There would have been significant interest from players across the online travel industry,” he said.

“Potential buyers would evaluate this opportunity from a build-versus-buy perspective and then put a value on the large volumes of organic search traffic that the site generates from Google. In that context $40m seems like a pretty good deal for the acquirer.”