Zomato acquired Paytm's entertainment ticket business for $244m

Indian multinational company Zomato acquired financial company Paytm’s entertainment ticket business for $244 million. Zomata is a massive Indian food delivery company.

Zomata bought the entertainment ticket business as a strategic move to offer more “going out” options. The Zomato-Paytm deal is one of the biggest M&A deals among modern Indian tech businesses.

The acquisition comprises Paytm’s movie, sports, and event ticketing services. Paytm’s 280-member staff will join Zomato following the acquisition deal. However, Paytm’s flagship app will continue to host these offers for 12 months maximum.

Update: We're excited to share that we've entered into agreements to sell our entertainment ticketing business, including movies, sports, and events, to Zomato for ₹2,048 cr. This move allows us to focus more on core payments & financial services. We built movie ticketing from… pic.twitter.com/TRnBUiIlTW
— Paytm (@Paytm) August 21, 2024

The new business works like food delivery: BookMyShow, backed by Reliance controls three-quarters of online movie ticket sales and over half of online event ticket sales. However, Paytm controls the remaining shares in online and event ticket sales.

Zomato acquired Paytm’s entertainment ticket business by paying $244.1 million. It acquired the ticket business when its stock market value performed remarkably well this year.

Its shares rising over 100% as the food delivery giant’s rapid commerce division gains momentum in India. The brokerage firm UBS revealed that it now valued Zomato’s rapid commerce service, Blinkit at $15.4 billion.

Paytm sells its entertainment ticketing business to Zomato for $244m. pic.twitter.com/aC98WIyeRK
— Manish Singh (@refsrc) August 21, 2024

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It exceeded the company’s primary food delivery operation, which is headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Zomato has roughly $1.5 billion in cash on hand with a market valuation of $27.3 billion at the close of business on August 21, 2022.

According to Bank of America analysts, the acquisition also fits Zomato’s larger plan to broaden its services. Zomato noted in a letter that the move might greatly support their ambitions to become a one-stop destination for food and entertainment purposes.

Zomato founder and chief executive Deepinder Goyal said acquisition helps them diversify their service options and offer new spots like movie and sports ticketing. It also makes them more relevant to their customers.