After Selling Stake, Nishant Pitti Steps Down as EaseMyTrip CEO; brother Rikant Pittie takes charge

Nishant Pitti, co-founder and promoter of Easy Trip Planners, divested a 1.4% stake in the travel aggregator for ₹78 crore through an open market transaction on December 31, according to NSE data cited by PTI.

Easy Trip Planners, the parent company of the online travel platform EaseMyTrip, saw Pitti offload 4.99 crore shares at an average price of ₹15.68 per share, bringing the total transaction value to ₹78.32 crore. Post-sale, Pitti's shareholding in the company declined from 14.21% to 12.8%, while the overall promoter stake fell from 50.38% to 48.97%.

Shares of Easy Trip Planners closed 6.92% lower at ₹15.87 on the day of the sale, following a sharp intraday decline of up to 10%. Reports suggest the dip was driven by speculation that Pitti may sell his remaining stake via a block deal.

In a separate transaction, Arunaben Sanjaykumar Bhatiya acquired 2.40 crore shares at an average price of ₹15.86 per share, amounting to ₹38.06 crore. Details of other buyers remain unavailable. Notably, this is not Pitti's first major divestment; in September 2023, he sold a 14% stake in the company for ₹920 crore.

In a significant leadership shift, Nishant Pitti stepped down as CEO of EaseMyTrip effective January 1, citing personal reasons. His brother, Rikant Pittie, who previously served as CFO, has been appointed as the new CEO.

"EaseMyTrip.com has named Rikant Pittie as Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder. Rikant will spearhead the company’s strategic initiatives, foster innovation, and enhance customer experiences to solidify EaseMyTrip’s position in the industry," the company announced in a regulatory filing.

Rikant, a graduate of Kurukshetra University with 15 years of experience across travel, tourism, HR, and technology, has been part of the Easy Trip board since 2011. He also oversees various private ventures, including Easy Builders, Spree Hotels, Yolobus, and Travelluxe EMT.

Expressing his enthusiasm for the new role, Rikant said, “At EaseMyTrip, we aim to go beyond delivering exceptional travel experiences by setting new industry benchmarks. I am honoured to take on this responsibility and look forward to driving the company’s growth and innovation.”