BookMyShow brings total investment to $225m with TPG backing

As predicted in January, BookMyShow, India’s biggest ticket seller, has closed a new round of funding, bringing total investment in the company since 2007 to US$224.5m.

The series-D round, worth $100m, was led by investment fund TPG Growth – whose recent investments include Africa’s Trace and China’s Moretickets – and also included participation from existing investors.

“They bring with them extensive wealth of experience across the global media and entertainment sector,” says Ashish Hemrajani (pictured), founder and CEO of BookMyShow owner Bigtree Entertainment, “which would be instrumental as we look to accelerate our growth plans in this space.”

“BookMyShow continues to build upon its leadership position”

According to the International Ticketing Yearbook 2017, BookMyShow has dominated the online market for film tickets in India for a number of years, and has recently been placing an increased emphasis on concerts and other live content. Film ticketing is believed to comprise around half of its business, with live events and sports contributing 35%, and advertising the remainder.

TPG, the US private-equity firm behind TPG Growth, is the majority owner of Creative Artists Agency. It also has investments in Spotify, Cirque du Soleil, Airbnb and Uber.

“BookMyShow continues to build upon its leadership position as the default digital entertainment destination,” comments Karan Sharma of Avendus Capital, which advised BookMyShow on the fundraising. “They have continued to expand the company’s horizon as they rise up the ladder and have successfully advanced into newer entertainment verticals.”

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