As per the latest updates, the online payments giant, Paytm is in talks with Insider. in, a curated events platform with an offer to pick up majority stakes in the Mumbai-based firm. The news came out from some insiders of the companies who are aware of the developments. If everything goes as per the plan, this is claimed to be the biggest external investment that Paytm has furnished till date.
Talking to a leading newspaper daily, a source told that, Paytm, the Noida-based company is ready with $30 million for the deal to pay Insider.in. On an average, Paytm has so far invested $5-$7 million dollars in most of the startups.
The source confirmed, “Paytm is in active discussions with the Vijay Nair-led firm as it wants to take on rivals like BookMyShow’s events business,”
Insider. in is a firm under the umbrella of Only Much Louder (OML). OML is revered to be the largest ticketing platform of the country that deals in wide range of services including Bacardi NH7 Weekender and TV series The Dewarists.
“Paytm wants to get a pie of the events business which is a natural extension given it is already present in the movie ticketing space. They are interested in Insider for its youth-oriented base of users,” a person related to the matter told a leading news source.
If everything falls into place, Paytm, the company that hails backup from Alibaba will own the majority stake in the Mumbai-based company, Insider.in and not in OML. As of now, Paytm has offered backup to many companies like QorQL, Jugnoo, Little, LogiNext, etc.
When contacted, both the companies involved in the matter declined to comment. While OML’s founder and CEO Vijay Nair said there are no comments to offer, the Paytm spokesperson avoided the media.
OML was founded in 2012 and the raised the funds from CA Media and Zodius Advisors. Insider.in is a ticket selling platform but beside this business, it also serves as a marketplace of certain curated products related to events that are enlisted in its website.
Just a week back, BookMyShow also bought some stake in Townscript, a Pune-based firm that deals in Do It Yourself events.
The CEO and co-founder of BookMyShow, Ashish Hemrajani said that the deal helped them out in strengthening their event business. “Insider.in will help Paytm curate handpicked content to ensure maximum visibility for such events,” another person abreast of the progress of the deal of Paytm pointed out.
Paytm under its diversification plan joined the movie ticketing business last year. It has acquired Rs. 400 crore gross merchandise values so far. The major value comes up from its cash back offers. Paytm ran many promotional campaigns, including buy one, get one ticket free scheme. Recently, the company offered heavy discount on the price of the ticket of Bahubali: The Conclusion.
