Times Internet-owned Dineout buys SteppinOut in fifth acquisition

Dineout, the restaurant services and reservation platform owned by Times Internet, has acquired event curator SteppinOut.

The two companies did not disclose the financial details of the transaction.

This development marks the fifth acquisition for Dineout. Previous buys are inResto, Torqus, Gourmet Passport, and Binge Digital.

SteppinOut, founded by Safdhar Adoor, curates events including food festivals, night markets, live comedy, and movie nights.

“After being stuck indoors for nearly one year, we are seeing revenge consumption, with people looking to dine out more and experience different types of events,” Dineout co-founder and chief executive officer Ankit Mehrotra said.

The two companies are currently working on creating intellectual property in this space across 20 cities in the country.

Dineout was founded in 2012 by Mehrotra, Vivek Kapoor, Sahil Jain, and Nikhil Bakshi. In 2014, the company was acquired by Times Internet for $10 million (around Rs 54.44 crore).

In 2018, Dineout acquired Torqus, a cloud-based point-of-sale (PoS) firm. 

Also that year, it bought Delhi-based Gourmet Passport, a mobile app that helps users avail buy-one-get-one free offers at restaurants. In August 2015, the firm acquired restaurant management solutions startup inResto Services Pvt. Ltd for an undisclosed amount.

Dineout’s parent, Times Internet, maintains interests in several segments through digital-first properties, including MagicBricks, Gaana, ETMoney, and CouponDunia.