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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Chinese discount ticket resale platform Moretickets has raised a further US$60 million in a series-C funding round led by CAA investor TPG Capital.

TPG Growth – the middle-market/growth capital division of TPG Capital, the majority owner of Creative Artists Agency – joins Hillhouse Capital and existing investors DCM, Matrix Partners, Blue Lake Capital and Nanshan Capital in the investment round, which brings Moretickets’ total funding to $100m.

The company, then called Ferris Wheel Ticketing, raised $15m in a series-B round in June 2017, with a further $25m (series B+) following in October.

According to China Money Network, Ferris Wheel/Moretickets operates in 369 cities in China, processing monthly sales worth over ￥100m (US$15m), although 90% of its tickets sell for under face value.

“Concerts, sporting events and original theatre have become an integral part of China’s consumer culture”

Matrix Partners, Nanshan Capital and DCM are also investors in another Chinese secondary ticketing site, Tking.

TPG, in addition to CAA, is the majority owner of Cirque du Soleil and, most recently, African entertainment brand Trace (through TPG Growth), and an investor in Spotify, Airbnb, Uber and Vice. It is also believed to be in talks to acquire a stake in BookMyShow, India’s leading entertainment ticketing platform.

“Through integrated technological knowhow and deep expertise in online event ticketing, Moretickets has been able to create a quality service product offering and secure its industry leading position in terms of scale, reputation, industry penetration, user experience and operational efficiency,” says Chang Sun (pictured), TPG’s managing partner in China.

“Live programmes such as concerts, sporting events and original theatre have become an integral part of China’s consumer culture, and we are very excited to be starting this new relationship with Moretickets as they look to further capitalise on this growing industry.”

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India’s biggest ticketing firm, BookMyShow, is believed to be in talks to raise US$50–60 million in investment from US private-equity fund TPG Growth.

TPG Growth – the middle-market/growth capital division of TPG Capital, the majority owner of Creative Artists Agency (CAA) – holds stakes in Airbnb, Spotify, Uber, film production company STX, guitar-maker Fender and Papa John’s pizza, among other investments. Earlier this week it invested an undisclosed sum in African entertainment conglomerate Trace.

According to Indian business paper Mint, TPG is in “advanced” talks with BookMyShow parent Bigtree Entertainment, which has raised close to $125m since 2012. “BookMyShow has been in the market for some months to raise a new round of funding,” says a source. “The talks with TPG are at an advanced stage.”

“BookMyShow has been in the market for some months”

“TPG is looking to pick up a minority stake of under 10%,” they added, while another suggested TPG values the company at closer to $750m.

IQ has contacted TPG for comment.

BookMyShow’s last funding round, in July 2016, was led by US venture-capital firm Stripes Group, and raised more than $80m in new investment.

According to the International Ticketing Yearbook 2017, BookMyShow has dominated the online market for film tickets 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.

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