India’s BookMyShow pulls in $100M to grow its online ticketing business

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
BookMyShow, an online ticketing service for cinemas, theatres and sports in India, has pulled in $100 million in new capital for growth. The
Series D round was led by private investment firmTPG Growth and it included participation from undisclosed existing investors
BookMyShow, which is headquartered in Mumbai, has now raised a total of $225 million from a range of backers that include Accel, SAIF and
New York&sStripes Group. When reached by TechCrunch via investors, the company declined to discuss details of the funding or the plans to
utilize it. &[TPG Growth] brings with them extensive wealth of experience across the global media and entertainment sector which would be
instrumental as we look to accelerate our growth plans in this space
The strategic value that all our investors continue to provide us will also be of immense importance as we begin a new chapter of our
standout story,& said BookMyShow CEO and founder Ashish Hemrajani in a prepared statement. On that experience,TPG investments in the
entertainment industry includeCirque du Soleil, Spotify, STX Entertainment, Vice Media and MoreTicketsso you can imagine that the startup
will find value from both that network and the experience that the firm has accrued working with its portfolio. BookMyShow was in expansion
mode in 2017 when it made four acquisitions, which included rival ticketing startups Townscript and MastiTickets
The case of Townscript, which is a self-serve platform,post-acquisition the business is said to have tripled the number of events on its
platform and doubled revenue, too. The firm has already ventured overseas with operations launched in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, so the
capital may go towards more verticals expansions and other international market launches.