Zomato completes acquisition of Paytm's ticketing business, informed in stock exchange filing

Zomato, a food delivery company, has completed the acquisition of Paytm's entertainment ticketing subsidiary WEPL and OTPL. This information was disclosed in a filing to the exchanges. On August 21, the Deepinder Goyal-led company signed definitive agreements to buy Paytm's entertainment branches.

Noida-based Paytm also confirmed this in its stock exchange filing on August 21. The company said in a release filed with the exchanges that the deal is worth Rs 2,048 crore on a cash-free, debt-free basis. This is a "testament to the value that Paytm has created in the entertainment ticketing business" through the services it provides to millions of Indians.

Zomato's parent company, OCL, has sold Zomato a 100% stake in its subsidiaries, Orbgen Technologies Private Limited (OTPL) and Westland Entertainment Private Limited (WEPL). These companies run the TicketNew and Insider platforms, which will now be owned by Zomato. According to the fintech, approximately 280 existing employees from the entertainment ticketing business will join Zomato.

According to Paytm, the company built the movie ticketing business from the ground up and acquired TicketNew and Insider for a total of Rs 268 crore from 2017 to 2018. Apart from this, additional investments were also made to grow the business. After the announcement of the completion of the acquisition on Wednesday, Zomato shares opened in the green at Rs 256.20.