New Delhi: Zomato has agreed to acquire Paytm’s ticketing business comprising 2 subsidiaries in a slump sale through cash infusion which will make Wasteland Entertainment, and Orbgen Technologies wholly owned units of the food aggregation app operator, according to exchange filings. Let us understand the nature of the ticketing sector landscape in India, the key players as well as what the deal holds for Zomato’s fortunes going forward.
Brokerage view on Zomato
Brokerage Motilal Oswal gave a target price of Rs 300 per share for Zomato’s stock after the comoany revealed plans to acquire Paytm’s ticketing business for Rs 2,050 crore.
Jefferies gave a BUY call on the company’s shares with a target price of Rs 335 apiece citing growth potential in the food delivery business.
Nomura gave a BUY call on Zomato with a target price of RS 280 apiece adding that the new deal will boost the food aggregator’s going-out business.
Market analyst Nitin Sharma gave a buy call on Zomato citing its cash and ability to turn the existing user base into potential customers for the soon-to-be-acquired ticketing business which is likely to be hived off into the recently announced District app.
Citing an EY report, Sharma said that India’s ticketing business is expected to grow at 18 per cent per annum during calendar years 2024-26 to Rs 14,300 crore. He compared the deal to the takeover of US-based ticketing platform Stubhub by Viagogo for $4.05 billion.
BookMyShow vs Paytm
Rival BookMyShow, in which Reliance Industries owns a 37 per cent stake, leads the ticketing space which is currently valued at $1.8 billion, according to Statista. Out of the company’s FY24 revenues worth Rs 1,050 crore, Rs 800 crore came from the ticketing business. This makes up for 70 per cent of the company’s total revenues, Moneycontrol reported, citing Elara Capital’s Karan Taurani.
Forecast for India’s ticketing sector
In 2024, India’s ticketing industry is expected to register double-digit revenue growth reaching Rs 10,700 crore, the Moneycontrol reported. In 2023, the ticketing sector reported a 20 per cent jump in revenues to Rs 8,800 crore, according to a report by FICCI and EY.
Zomato may see its revenues from ticketing jump to Rs 700 crore after acquiring the business from Paytm which currently churns revenues worth Rs 297 crore, said Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal. There is more scope for expansion with the FICCI EY report pointing at the following cities to drive growth in the events space:
Surat
Jaipur
Ahmedabad
Visakhapatnam
Lucknow
Patna
Ayodhya
Trivandrum
Cochin
The Zomato-Paytm deal will pit the food aggregator directly against Reliance-backed BookMyShow. Know what this will mean for heighten India’s ticketing sector. Biz News Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
