Quikr acquires Babajob in order to strengthen Blue Color Jobs

By Shariq Hussain

Posted on June 22, 2017

Online classifieds portal Quikr India Pvt. Ltd has acquired job listing company Babajob Services Pvt. Ltd in an attempt to strengthen its position in the blue collar jobs segment in a mostly-stock deal as it looks to enhance its presence in the segment.

Babajob’s acquisition will be the 11th acquisition for Quikr and its second in the online jobs marketplace space. With this acquisition, Quikr will become the largest in the blue collar job category that helps entry-level sales professionals, BPO executives, delivery executives, drivers, and more looking for suitable employment.

Babajob is a Bangalore based startup founded in August 2007 by Vir Kashyap and Sean Blagsvetd. The job website and mobile portal dedicated to connecting informal sector workers – cooks, maids, drivers, guards, etc. After the deal, both the founders will be in an advisory role in the merged entity while they look for external opportunities.

Sean Blagsvedt, co-founder and chief executive officer at Babajob, said: “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 and I decided that joining forces with Quikr represented our best option for scaling Babajob’s mission by providing better jobs for everyone by helping employers digitally hire aspiring workers.”

Quikr is currently valued at about $1.5 billion. Quick had raised about $350 million from Kinnevik AB, Tiger Global, Steadview Capital Management, Matrix Partners India and others till now.

Amit Jain, Head of QuikrJobs, said, “We have great respect for the business and brand that the Babajob team has built. This move takes our market leadership in the blue collar jobs industry to a different level in empowering millions of people.”

Quikr has been on an acquisition spree in the last 18 months, this is the second acquisition in the jobs segment Previously
Quikr had acquired other home service startups like Zimmber, Grabhouse, Hiree, Stayglad, Stepni, Commonfloor and other startups. Read more about Indian Startup Ecosystem.

Quikr acquires Babajob in order to strengthen Blue Color Jobs