BookMyShow Raises Largest Single Funding of Over INR 550 Crores

BookMyShow Raises Largest Single Funding of Over INR 550 Crores

MUMBAI, July 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --



To Focus on Becoming 'Entertainment Destination of India'



Mumbai-based Bigtree Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., which owns and operates BookMyShow, has
raised over INR 550 crores in its fourth and largest single financing round. The round was
led by US-based Stripes Group, and saw participation from all existing investors - Network
18, Accel Partners and SAIF Partners to further strengthen BookMyShow's position as the
largest online entertainment ticketing platform in the country. This fresh infusion of
funds comes at a time when BookMyShow has entered new international territories such as
Indonesia and looks to transform into the preferred 'Entertainment Destination' within
India.



Ashish Hemrajani, CEO and Co-Founder, BookMyShow commented, "We are excited to welcome
Stripes Group on board as our newest partner, which comes with a wealth of experience in
digital entertainment asset. With BookMyShow being their first investment in the Indian
market, alongside the display of confidence by our existing investors Network 18, Accel
Partners and SAIF Partners, this is an overall testament to how they believe in our
roadmap for growth and innovation within the entertainment space."



"These funds will be utilized towards rolling out exclusive entertainment experiences
on BookMyShow, enhancing the overall offering for our users, while we hopefully build out
a 360-degree gateway of entertainment in India," added Hemrajani.



"We are thrilled to be partnering with three very special founders - Ashish, Rajesh
and Parikshit - as well as a world-class team and group of investors at BookMyShow. We
look forward to sharing our operating and investing experience with online transactional
and ticketing businesses, as well as digital media, to help the company continue to scale,
" said Stripes Group Managing Partner Dan Marriott. "With a ubiquitous and trusted brand
and a history of capital efficient growth, BookMyShow is truly a standout story. Already
the clear leader in movie and live event ticketing, BookMyShow is uniquely positioned to
tap into India's digital advertising and entertainment markets, which are among the
fastest growing globally."



"BookMyShow's team has shown great drive and foresight to create something unique for
customers, partners and shareholders. This additional funding will help them expand even
further. We are proud to have been their partners," said Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman,
Network 18.



Prashanth Prakash, Partner, Accel Partners said, "It has been an extraordinary journey
since we invested in BookMyShow, four years ago. Their innovative customer experiences
across both events and movies have been hugely appreciated. This new funding will help
them in enhancing these experiences with original and contextual entertainment content."



Deepak Gaur, Managing Director, SAIF Partners said, "We are very excited to be
partners on BookMyShow's terrific journey to be India's leading entertainment platform
enabled by technology and strong focus on customer experience. The current round of
investment will further allow the company to make key investments in newer domains and
enhancing the depth and coverage of entertainment needs of Indian consumers."



BMR Legal served as the legal advisor and Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial
advisor to Bigtree Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. during this round.



About BookMyShow 



BookMyShow, (Bigtree Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.), is India's largest online entertainment
ticketing platform that allows users to book tickets for movies, plays, sports and live
events through its website, mobile app and mobile site. Founded in Mumbai (India) in 1999
and re-launched in 2007, BookMyShow is now present in over 350 towns and cities across
India, currently meeting the entertainment demands of millions of customers. For more
information, please visit:http://www.bookmyshow.com.



About Stripes Group 



Based in New York City, Stripes Group is a leading growth equity firm that invests in
Internet, digital media, software, and branded consumer products businesses around the
world. For over a decade, Stripes Group has been partnering with market-leading companies
with proven business models that are generating exceptional growth. For more information
on Stripes Group, visit: http://www.stripesgroup.com.



About Network18 



Network18 Group is a media and entertainment group with interests in television,
Internet, films, e-commerce, magazines, mobile content and allied businesses. Through its
subsidiary, TV18 Broadcast Ltd. [BSE: 532800, NSE: TV18BRDCST] ('TV18'), the group
operates news channels such as CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz, CNBC-TV18 Prime HD, CNN-News18 and
IBN7. TV18 also operates a joint venture with Viacom called Viacom18, which houses a
portfolio of popular entertainment channels such as Colors, Colors HD, Rishtey, MTV India,
MTV Indies, Comedy Central, Vh1, Nick, Sonic, Nick Jr and Viacom18 Motion Pictures, the
group's filmed entertainment business. TV18 has also forayed into the Indian factual
entertainment space through a joint venture with A+E Networks and operates History TV18.
In the regional space, the group operates a Gujarati business news channel - CNBC Bajar, a
Marathi general news channel - IBN Lokmat and operates ten regional news channels under
the ETV umbrella and five regional entertainment channels under the Colors brand. The
group also operates a 24 hour Indian news channel in English - News18, targeting global
audiences. TV18 and Viacom18 have formed a strategic joint venture called IndiaCast, a
multi-platform 'content asset monetization' entity that drives domestic and international
channel distribution, placement services and content syndication for the bouquet of
channels from the group and third parties. Through 'Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.'
[BSE: 532798, NSE: Network18], the group operates its digital, publishing and e-commerce
assets including moneycontrol.com, ibnlive.com, in.com, news18.com and firstpost.com.
'Network18' also operates e-commerce properties like HomeShop18 and bookmyshow.com and
publishes Forbes India, the nation's first local edition of a foreign news magazine in
collaboration with Forbes Media. In addition, the group operates Network18 Publishing, a
player in the special interest publishing space, which publishes magazines such as
Overdrive, Better Photography and Better Interiors. 'Network18' also has strategic
investments in Yatra, Colosceum, Topper, 24X7 Learning and Ubona. For more information,
log on to: http://www.network18online.com



About Accel 



Accel is a leading early and growth-stage venture capital firm powering a global
community of entrepreneurs. Accel backs entrepreneurs who have what it takes to build a
world-class, category-defining business. Founded in 1983, Accel brings more than three
decades of experience building and supporting hundreds of companies. Accel has backed a
number of iconic global platforms, including Atlassian, Braintree, BookMyShow, Cloudera,
Dropbox, Etsy, Facebook, Flipkart, FreshDesk, MuSigma, Myntra, Ola-TaxiForSure, Perfint,
Slack, Spotify and others. For more information, please visit us at accel.com, or on
facebook.com/accel



About SAIF Partners 



SAIF Partners is an Asia-focused, sector and stage agnostic fund with over $4 billion
capital under management. SAIF was founded in 2001 and has invested across sectors like
Internet, ITeS/KPO, consumer products and services, financial services and healthcare.
SAIF has a portfolio of over 50 companies in India, which includes MakeMyTrip, JustDial,
Paytm, BookMyShow, Speciality Restaurants, Manpasand Juices, Rivigo, Swiggy and
Urbanladder.




 
Media Contacts: 
Arushi Maheshwari 
+91-8802999023 
arushi.maheshwari@bookmyshow.com

 
Kapil Daryani 
+91-9987210099 
kapil@communicateindia.com 


 



BookMyShow


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Profile: intent