GolfLAN buys competitor GolfGreedy in cash-and-stock deal

Delhi-based golf course aggregator GolfLAN has acquired its Singapore-based competitor GolfGreedy in a part-cash, part-stock deal, the company said in a statement on Monday.

This is GolfLAN's second deal in six months after it bought Dubai-based golf technology company StayPrime in July 2016 for $1 million.

Following the GolfGreedy deal, the number of golf courses on the GolfLAN platform will rise to 1,200 across 40 Asian nations, it claimed. Club operators registered with GolfGreedy will be able to use GolfLAN's golf cart management system and tee-sheet management solution.

GolfLAN offers subscription-based service for golfers to book tee times through the startup without club membership. On GolfLAN's cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform Online Tee Time Organiser (OTTO), golfers from anywhere in the world can book tee slots at over 1,000 courses across 40 countries, apart from finding golf equipment and trainers.

In November last year, the company had raised $1 million (Rs 6.65 crore) from existing investors YourNest Angel Fund and Africa's IT/ITES group iSON. Prior to that, it raised $1 million in its first round of funding from YourNest and other angel investors in March 2015.

GolfLAN was founded in 2011 by Dhruv Verma, an XLRI alumnus with over 14 years of experience across BFSI, BPO and telecom, who is also an avid golfer.

"Singapore is an important golfing destination in South-East Asia. This transaction clearly establishes our leadership in this region and industry. Golf lovers, through us, will get a host of choices to book a tee time and also experience a range of our world-class services," says Verma.

In the last four years, the number of golf enthusiasts in India has sharply gone up, with about 200,000 people teeing compared to just 30,000 in 2010. The potential for growth is exponential, with just 300 golf courses across the country compared to more than 15,000 in the US. Out of these 300, over 50 have been built in just the last five years with around 60% of them been built in Tier 1 and 2 cities, highlighting the rapid growth that the sport is witnessing as well as the diverse backgrounds from which the new players are emerging.