Zomato to acquire Paytm’s entertainment ticketing business for Rs 2,048 cr

Paytm and Zomato are said to have entered a deal under which Zomato will buy the movie and events ticketing businesses of Paytm for an all cash deal of Rs 2,048 crore.

This purchase will fortify Zomato’s market presence as it looks to expand its business beyond food delivery.

Meanwhile, with this sale Paytm will be focussing on its core payments and financial services operations.

In its filing to the BSE, Zomato said, “We have signed definitive agreements to acquire Paytm’s entertainment ticketing business, which is used by customers in India to discover and purchase tickets for movies, sports and events (live performances).”

Zomato added that the business is being acquired for a total consideration of Rs 2,048 crore (subject to any changes in cash and net working capital as at closing). The transaction also includes a transition services agreement, where the ticketing business will continue to run on the Paytm app for a period of up to 12 months to ensure a smooth transition of the business from Paytm to Zomato.

As part of the transaction, 280 employees will move to Zomato, however, there is no other major physical infrastructure being acquired.

Zomato further said that the proposed acquisition will helps it add more scale and offer newer use-cases (like movie and sports ticketing) to its customers in this segment, and provides an opportunity to spin-off the business into a new app (called District). “We want to position ‘District’ as the brand that consumers turn to when they are thinking of going out,” Zomato affirmed, while informing that the District app is slated for launch anytime in the next few weeks.