Alibaba swoops for TicketNew

Alibaba Pictures is reportedly in talks to acquire Indian event and film ticketer TicketNew, posing a challenge to BookMyShow’s hitherto dominance of India’s ticketing market.

Alibaba Pictures, owned by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, marked its entry into the live entertainment market last spring with the rebranding of its film-ticketing subsidiary, Taobao Dianying, to ‘Tao Piao Piao’ and the expansion of its focus to include live music and events.

According to an Indian business paper, it has now made a play for the parent company of TicketNew, Orben Technologies, based in Chennai (Madras), which sells tickets to cinemas and sports and entertainment venues across India.

It also has offices in the UK, the US and Spain.

“The discussions are at an advanced stage and a deal will close soon”

“The discussions are at an advanced stage and a deal will close soon,” Mint quotes a source as saying. The value of the transaction is reportedly likely to be around US$35 million for a 70–75% equity stake.

According to the International Ticketing Yearbook 2016, BookMyShow’s share of the Indian entertainment ticketing market currently stands at 85%–95%.

Alibaba Group, meanwhile, today posted a 54% increase in turnover in the third quarter of its financial year, to $7.67 billion.

Reuters reported in late December that Alibaba plans to invest more than $7.2 billion in entertainment over the next three years, although the company declined to provide specifics on investments.

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