Zomato completes acquisition of Paytm’s entertainment, ticketing business

Food delivery company Zomato has completed the acquisition of Paytm subsidiaries WEPL and OTPL for the entertainment ticketing business, the company said in its filing with the exchanges.

On August 21, the Deepinder Goyal-led company entered into definitive agreements for the acquisition of Paytm's entertainment arms.

In its stock exchange filing on August 21, Noida-based Paytm had also confirmed the development.

The deal, valued at ₹2,048 crores on a cash-free, debt-free basis, stands "as a testament to the value" Paytm has created through its entertainment ticketing business, bringing choice and convenience to millions of Indians with its services and scale, the company said in a release filed with exchanges.

As part of this agreement, OCL will transfer its entertainment ticketing business to Zomato by transferring OCL's entertainment ticketing business to its 100 per cent subsidiaries, Orbgen Technologies Pvt Limited (OTPL) and Wasteland Entertainment Pvt Ltd (WEPL) and selling a 100 per cent stake in its subsidiaries OTPL and WEPL, which operate the TicketNew and Insider platforms, respectively to Zomato.

As per the information provided by the fintech, about 280 existing employees from the entertainment ticketing business will be part of Zomato.

Paytm had said that the company wants to focus on the payments and financial services distribution segment.

During a transition period (up to 12 months), the movie and event tickets will continue to be available on the Paytm app, as well as on the TicketNew and Insider platforms, ensuring a smooth and uninterrupted experience for users and merchant partners.

As per Paytm, the company built movie ticketing from the ground up and acquired TicketNew and Insider for a total consideration of ₹268 crores from 2017 to 2018. Further, additional investments were also made to scale up the business.

On Wednesday, after the announcement, the stocks of Zomato opened in green at ₹256.20. The company in the past six months has delivered a 60 per cent reward to its shareholders.