Restaurant aggregator Zomato has confirmed ongoing discussions to acquire the movies and events ticketing business vertical of Paytm, an online payments platform. In a stock exchange filing on June 16, Zomato stated that it is negotiating the purchase of Paytm’s movie ticket booking business, owned by One97 Communications.
Zomato emphasized that, while it intends to acquire the ticketing business, no binding decision has been made. “We acknowledge that we are in discussions with Paytm for the aforementioned transaction; however, no binding decision has been taken at this stage that would warrant a Board approval and subsequent disclosure in accordance with applicable law,” Zomato said in the filing.
The company also indicated that this move aims to bolster its ‘going-out’ business, aligning with its focus on core businesses. “The above discussion is being undertaken with the intent to strengthen our going-out business further and is in line with our stated position of focusing only on our four key businesses currently,” Zomato added.
In a separate statement, Paytm’s parent company One97 Communications noted that the discussions are preliminary and do not involve binding agreements that require approval or disclosure. “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. However, any discussions currently underway are preliminary and do not involve any binding agreements that require approval or disclosure under Regulation 30 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, or other applicable laws. As such, any information pertaining to these discussions should be considered speculative at this time,” Paytm said on June 16.
Previous reports suggested that Paytm is considering selling its movie and ticketing division as part of a strategic overhaul, potentially valuing the business at nearly ₹1500 crore. If the deal proceeds, it would mark Zomato’s second-largest acquisition, following its purchase of the quick commerce platform Blinkit (formerly Grofers) in 2021.
On Friday, Zomato’s shares closed at ₹186.19 each on the NSE, up by 0.68%.
