Israel-based online travel booking platform Holisto and Moringa Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), have reached an agreement that would see Holisto listed on the Nasdaq. Holisto was valued at approximately $405 million as part of the deal.

Holisto is expected to earn $115 million from the merger, with the transaction expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Holisto is a technology-based online travel booking platform that uses artificial intelligence technology to analyze hotel rates and plans across multiple inventory sources, including online travel agencies, global distribution systems, wholesalers and hotel operators, to provide consumers with more affordable and personalized reservations. Holisto operates under several brands, including GoSplitty and Traveluro.

Holisto has seen its revenue increase significantly over the past year, but its Q1 2022 revenue still only reached $7.18 million, compared to $1.97 million for Q1 2021.

Holisto was founded in 2015 by Avi Wortzel, Eran Shust and Shay Horovitz, and has raised $9.3 million to date, according to Crunchbase. The company employs a total of 370 people.

“From the start, we were inspired by the opportunity to disrupt the large, fragmented and complex travel booking market, using advanced big data and artificial intelligence technologies that enable additional cost savings and simplicity. thanks to the ability to combine offers from multiple sources,” said Eran Shust. , CEO and co-founder of Holisto. “Our association with Moringa and access to public markets will allow Holisto to continue to aggressively leverage our technology by evolving our platform and infrastructure and expanding our customer acquisition and brand awareness. “

Ilan Levin, CEO and President of Moringa, and former CEO of Stratasys, added, “We are extremely excited to announce the merger with Holisto. Holisto innovates with advanced technology solutions in a vast global market that is ripe for transformation to benefit the consumer traveler. We look forward to our partnership and the opportunity to leverage our expertise as Holisto continues to rapidly expand its business. »

“The Holisto-Moringa SPAC combination is a very important step for Israeli technology and SPACs, after the drop we saw in the share prices of the companies that merged with too high valuations, everyone felt that the SPAC are no longer a valid vehicle, but this is an example of market disillusionment and marks the validity of reasonable, win-win deals,” said Adi Mimran, co-CEO of Fundem Capital who advised Holisto on the deal. .