Zomato Acquires Paytm’s Events And Movies Ticketing Subsidiaries

Ahead of its annual general meeting, foodtech major Zomato announced in an exchange filing that it has completed the acquisition of Paytm’s events and movies ticketing subsidiaries Wasteland Entertainment Private Limited and Orbgen Technologies Private Limited.

In a separate filing, Paytm also said that the transfer of the events and movies ticketing business to WEPL and OTPL, respectively, along with subscription by Zomato in the share capital of both subsidiaries, was completed on August 27 (Tuesday).

WEPL and OTPL operate the Insider and TicketNow platforms, respectively.

With this, Paytm’s 100% shareholding in WEPL and OTPL has been transferred to Zomato and these entities are no longer subsidiaries of the fintech firm, the filing said, adding that the amount of consideration is subject to completion of post-closing audit adjustments as per the terms of the agreement between both the parties.

“This deal reinforces our commitment to payments and financial services distribution … The transaction will generate substantial profits for Paytm, with the cash proceeds further bolstering our balance sheet for future growth,” the Delhi NCR-based fintech company said.

Following the announcement, shares of Paytm climbed more than 2% during Wednesday’s intraday trade to INR 559.15 apiece on the BSE. 

This comes just days after Paytm, along with its two subsidiaries, entered into a definitive agreement to sell its entertainment ticketing business to Zomato for INR 2,048 Cr in an all-cash deal.

In a letter to its shareholders, Zomato last week said that the transaction was expected to be completed within Q2 FY25, subject to the “satisfactory completion of all closing conditions”.

Zomato then said that its board at a meeting on August 21 approved the acquisition of Paytm’s movie and events ticketing businesses.

At the time, the Deepinder Goyal-led company said that the acquisition was part of its broader plans to scale up its “going-out business”. It is pertinent to note that Zomato plans to launch a separate app ‘District’ to scale up its going-out business.

The acquisition of Paytm’s entertainment ticketing business is expected to enhance Zomato’s existing live event offerings and position it as a formidable competitor to BookMyShow, which currently dominates the space.