Paytm in talks with Zomato to sell its movie, ticketing business

Mumbai:

Paytm

is in advanced stages of discussion to sell its movie and events

ticketing

business to

Zomato

as part of the fintech's strategy to divest its non-core assets, sources aware of the development told TOI. The deal, if finalised, could value the

business

vertical of Paytm at close to Rs 2,000 crore.
In a stock exchange filing late Sunday, Zomato said that it is in discussions with Paytm to acquire its movies and events ticketing business.

The discussion, the firm said, is being undertaken with an intent to strengthen its 'going-out' business. "However, no binding decision has been taken at this stage that would warrant a board approval and subsequent disclosure," Zomato added.

In a separate filing, Paytm also said that the discussions are preliminary and do not involve any binding agreements that require approval or disclosure. "The company routinely explores various strategic opportunities aimed at enhancing shareholder value. The potential transfer of Paytm's entertainment business, a component of our marketing services, is one opportunity under consideration. As noted in our earnings call, our focus will be on payment and financial services along with digital goods commerce, which are designed to help our merchants scale their businesses," the firm said.

"Paytm wants to focus on its payments and financial services businesses. It will only focus on opportunities which would help its merchants scale their businesses," sources said. For Zomato, the deal will add value - acquiring Paytm's movie and events ticketing verticals would fit in well with and give a leg-up to its going-out business, analysts said. The food delivery firm's 'going-out' vertical already offers discovery and ticketing of offline experiences such as in-restaurant dining and live events such as Zomaland.
Revenues from its going-out segment have grown by over 100% year-on-year to Rs 93 crore in the March quarter. "Paytm is currently merging its movies and the Insider (events platform) vertical into one team. For now, customers may continue to book both movies and events on the Paytm app," sources said. However, Zomato is likely to work on integrating the two verticals within its platform once the deal is through, they added. A formal announcement of the deal could happen as early as next week, sources said.