Quikr on acquisition spree; buys job listing firm Babajob

Quikr, the online classifieds portal, has acquired the job listing portal Babajob to strengthen its blue-collar jobs segment. Babajob claims that 8.5 million verified job seekers sought jobs from more than five lakh employers on its platform. The combined entity is expected to become the largest platform for blue collar job seekers. Sean Blagsvedt, co-founder and CEO of Babajob, said that “This will combine the two largest Indian aspiring job players—Babajob and QuikrJobs—into one entity, a tool to help everyone in India get a better job. The Babajob board, Vir Kashyap, co-founder and chief operating officer, and I decided that joining forces with Quikr represented our best option for scaling Babajob’s mission—providing better jobs for everyone by helping employers digitally hire aspiring workers”.

Quikr has been on an acquisition spree since last year and has acquired 9 companies since January’16. It had acquired IDG Ventures-backed online job listing platform Hiree (Abhiman Technologies Pvt. Ltd) in July last year for an undisclosed amount, and is also in talks to buy HDFC Realty.

Founded in 2008, the startup has raised $346 million capital till now, and counts major names among its investors including Kinnevik AB, Tiger Global, Steadview Capital Management, Matrix Partners India and others.