By Vibhuti Sharma
Aug 19 (Reuters) – Global investment firm KKR will buy a stake of about 6% in Indian ticketing and entertainment platform BookMyShow for $40 million to $50 million, a source told Reuters on Wednesday, as demand for live events soars in the world’s most populous nation.
Competition has intensified in India’s entertainment-ticketing sector, with Walmart-owned Flipkart planning to enter the events and ticketing space. Eternal’s District platform has also been expanding its presence, seeking a share of a market buoyed by robust demand for concerts, sports events and live experiences.
KKR declined to comment on the deal size, while BookMyShow did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
The companies announced the investment early on Wednesday but did not disclose its financial terms. The stake buy implies an estimated valuation of $667 million to $833 million for BookMyShow, the source added, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
Founded in 2007, BookMyShow has evolved from an online movie ticketing platform into a broader entertainment company spanning films, live events and experiences. Its live entertainment division has hosted renowned artists including Coldplay, Ed Sheeran and Travis Scott.
BookMyShow founder and CEO Ashish Hemrajani said the company was seeing the opportunity in India’s entertainment economy grow “like never before” as it expands across the live entertainment landscape.
(Reporting by Vibhuti Sharma and Kashish Tandon; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Janane Venkatraman)
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