Online ticket booking portal BookMyShow has acquired MastiTickets, a rival but smaller ticketing firm, for an undisclosed sum of money. Sources suggest the deal was an all-cash one. The acquisition is seen to be largely targeting regional markets with special emphasis on Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Regional markets easily boast of competing with the conventional Mumbai-based film industry in terms of output, revenue and profits from films.
MastiTickets is a two-year-old startup in Hyderabad. Before the acquisition, BookMyShow has already had its presence felt across 530 screens distributed throughout the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. MastiTickets has a presence over 12 screens in the two major markets. With the acquisition, BookMyShow will become a major player in these two states as well.
Ashish Hemrajani, a co-founder of BookMyShow was quoted by The Economic Times stating,“We have seen a 30% growth from these markets. Kannada, Telugu, Tamil speaking audiences are some of the most important markets for us. This acquisition will enable us to acquire users in these markets, as well as exclusive access to around 120 cinemas. The acquisition of MastiTickets fit perfectly into its expansion strategy.”
MastiTickets was launched in 2014 and was founded by Ravi Narla. Similar to BookMyShow, it also enables users to book tickets for movies through its website, a dedicated mobile app and a mobile site. BookMyShow will look to up its ante in other regional markets of the country as well. Prior to this acquisition, the company had made three acquisitions in the past: it acquired the Chennai-based online ticketing major TicketGreen in 201 besides a social media analytics startup called Eventifier in 2015. In 2016, it had bought Chennai-based fan relationship management or FRM solutions provider Fantain Sports.
BookMyShow’s largest investor is Network 18. In 2016, BookMyShow is said to have sold over 100 million tickets and expects to double the growth in the coming year. This goal can only be achieved by focusing on regional markets, which has risen in value and occupancy rates over the last few years. In July last year, the company raised Rs 550 crores led by Stripes Group in a series of investment. As of July 2016, BookMyShow is priced at over Rs 3000 crores. The online ticket booking market in India is on the rise. BookMyShow was launched in 1999 by three founders, Ashish Hemrajani, Parikshit Dar and Rajesh Balpande. It is now the largest online movie ticketing platform in India.
