Aussie-based travel start-up Rome2Rio acquired by rival

Global trip planning site Rome2rio has been acquired by European travel booking platform Omio.

Rome2rio will continue to operate as a separate entity, headquartered in Melbourne, with co-founders Michael Cameron and Bernhard Tschirren to stay on with the start-up under new ownership.

Founded in 2010 and with a team of over 80 employees globally, Rome2rio displays flight, train, bus, ferry and driving options for destinations, with estimated travel times and fares from over 5,000 companies in more than 160 countries.

Omio is one of Europe’s leading bookings platform for travel by train, bus, flight and – most recently – ferry. Founded in 2013 by Naren Shaam, the company has raised over US$300 million ($436 million) in funding and built a team of over 300 employees.

Together, both companies will work on creating new product experiences for their combined user base of half a billion users, and will draw on synergies across marketing, commercial and technology to drive greater efficiencies on a global scale.

Commenting on the deal, Cameron said joining forces with Omio was a natural extension of Rome2Rio’s existing product experience.

“We have spent almost a decade refining our ability to help users figure out how to get from one corner of the global to another,” he said.

“Now with Omio, Rome2rio customers will be able to book tickets with more transport providers than ever before, and receive support throughout their journey.

“Rome2rio and Omio share a vision of creating simple, intuitive multi-modal transport products for our users. As a team, we are excited about the opportunity to work with Omio, integrate our technologies, and leverage each other’s expertise to scale even faster.”

Shaam said: “We are excited to welcome Rome2rio into the Omio family. Its skilled team has built a great product with innovative tech and delivered 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.”

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