Zomato Clinches Paytm’s Ticketing Biz For Rs 2,048 Crore

Zomato has acquired Insider and TicketNew, the entertainment, sports, and events ticketing businesses from Paytm's parent company, One 97 Communications, in a deal valued at Rs 2,048 crore.

Earlier, both companies had confirmed they were negotiating a potential sale of Paytm's entertainment division, with discussions for Insider underway.

Paytm stated that this transaction aligns with its strategy to focus on its core payments and financial services operations. It also highlighted that the deal would yield substantial profits and enhance its balance sheet.

One 97 Communications stated in a separate announcement that its entertainment ticketing services—covering movies, sports, and events—will continue to be accessible on the Paytm app for a transition period of up to 12 months.

Paytm's Insider, which handles the movies and events segment, trails significantly behind market leader BookMyShow in the movie ticketing market.

Impact on Business Operations

Around 280 employees will transition to Zomato, with Orbgen Technologies (which operates Ticketnew—the movie ticketing business) and Wasteland Entertainment (which operates Paytm Insider) becoming wholly-owned subsidiaries as part of the acquisition. 

This move strengthens Zomato's presence in the going-out sector across various platforms. The District app, which Zomato recently housed separately, will initially mirror these services before gradually migrating customers to the new platform. Kotak Mahindra Capital, Zomato's financial advisor, confirmed that the valuation is reasonable.

Zomato anticipates its going-out business will stay close to break-even in the short term but could achieve a 4-5 per cent adjusted EBITDA margin in the medium to long term, with gross order value projected to surpass Rs 10,000 crore by the financial year ending March 2026.

EE News Desk

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