Zomato will acquire Paytm’s entertainment ticketing business for Rs 2,048 crore, the online food delivery platform and the fintech firm announced on Wednesday, August 21. The acquisition will help Zomato spruce up its “going-out” segment, while the beleaguered fintech firm will sharpen its focus on core payments and financial services distribution.

The sale agreement includes movies, sports, and events (live performances) ticketing business on a cash-free, debt-free basis, with the boards of both Zomato and One 97 Communications Ltd (OCL) approving the deal.

“As part of this agreement, OCL will transfer its entertainment ticketing business to Zomato by 1) Transfer of OCL’s entertainment ticketing business to it’s 100% subsidiaries, Orbgen Technologies Pvt Limited (OTPL) and Wasteland Entertainment Pvt Ltd (WEPL), and 2) Selling 100% stake in its subsidiaries OTPL and WEPL, which operate the TicketNew and Insider platforms, respectively to Zomato. The transfer will also include ~280 existing employees from the entertainment ticketing business,” the Paytm said in an exchange filing.

Under the terms of the deal, the entertainment ticketing services will remain accessible on the Paytm app for a transition period of up to 12 months, ensuring continuity for users while Zomato integrates these services into its offerings.
Paytm’s entertainment ticketing segment encompasses movie, sports, and event bookings and has seen notable growth with the division reporting revenues of ₹297 crore and an Adjusted EBITDA of ₹29 crore in FY24, the company’s release added.

Paytm forayed into this sector with the creation of a movie ticketing platform, followed by the acquisition of Insider and TicketNew for ₹268 crore between 2017 and 2018.

Zomato’s ‘District’ app

Zomato will spin off the new business into a new app called ‘District’. In a letter to shareholders, Zomato MD and CEO Deepinder Goyal said the acquisition will help the platform “add more scale” and “offer newer use cases” to its customers.

“We want to position “District” as the brand that consumers turn to when they are thinking of going out,” Goyal said.

Zomato share price settled 1.3% lower at ₹259.77 on the NSE, while Paytm share price ended in the green at ₹574.90 apiece.