MUMBAI: The holding company of one of India’s leading online entertainment ticketing companies BookMyShow, Bigtree Entertainment has received a shot in the arm. The company’s existing investors Network18 and Accel Partners and its new investor SAIF Partners have together invested Rs 150 crore in the company.
With this round of financing, the company is looking at increasing its penetration outside tier I cities, build its infrastructure and expand its offering in order to take customer experience to the next level. Avendus Capital was the sole financial advisor and BMR Legal was the legal advisor for this transaction.
On signing the deal, BookMyShow founder and CEO Ashish Hemrajani said, “We are very happy to have SAIF Partners as our latest investors. The common vision of creating scalable and large businesses was aligned to our thought process. Their experience of having helped companies such as MakeMyTrip and Just Dial go public would be of immense value to us as we move forward in our growth plans. We are also very happy to have delivered value to our existing investors and the fact that both Network18 and Accel have further invested in this round, shows their confidence in the company and the ability of the team to continue delivering and innovating.”
Commenting on the transaction, SAIF Partners MD Deepak Gaur said, “We are delighted to participate in this exciting journey of bringing world class convenience to consumers across entertainment verticals that BookMyShow offers. We are confident that with the current round of capital raise, BookMyShow team will continue to strengthen the relentless focus on innovation, customer service and technology as our country takes rapid strides in internet penetration.”
Accel India partner Prashanth Prakash added, “As an industry leader, BookMyShow continues to set the agenda when it comes to movie and event experiences in India. We look forward to supporting the team in continuing to enhance value for their customers and realising the potential of becoming the default destination for consumers' entertainment needs.”
Commenting on the transaction, Capital 18 MD Sarbvir Singh said, “BookMyShow has emerged as the country’s leading entertainment ticketing destination. The company continues to attract high pedigree investors and with SAIF Partners joining Accel Partners and Network18, the BookMyShow team will be able to further enhance customer experience and market leadership. We were happy to participate in the transaction and look forward to the next phase of the BookMyShow journey.”
A release from the company states that it gets more than 35 million visits and 500 million page views approximately and has sold more than 10 crore tickets till date. It has also re-launched a mobile app to facilitate ticketing in India and an additional 20 cities have been covered by adding new cinemas. BookMyShow now has a presence in over 200 cities and is trying to further penetrate the single screen cinema segment in each of these markets.
BookMyShow was the exclusive online ticketing partner for the ICC T-20 Championship in Bangladesh. The company is also the exclusive ticketing partner for many IPL teams which include Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils, Rajasthan Royals, Hyderabad Sun Risers, Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab. It also manages ticketing for IPL central rights along with accreditations. The other sport events for which BookmyShow has been the exclusive online ticketing partner are; Chennai Open Tennis championship, Super Fight League and Yonex Badminton.
