Bigtree Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, which runs ticket booking platform Bookmyshow.com, on Tuesday said it has bought a 75% stake in Pune-based Townscript for an undisclosed amount.
Townscript, founded in 2014 by Sachin Sharma and Sanchit Malikto, provides ticketing and planning services for workshops, conferences, exhibitions, college festivals, marathons and adventure events.
This is the second acquisition this year by Mumbai-based BigTree after it took over Hyderabad-based MastiTickets last month.
“We discovered the perfect synergy match with Townscript and are excited to be partnering with them in their journey towards excelling in this segment,” Ashish Hemrajani, chief executive officer at Bookmyshow, said in a statement.
He said that his company will invest in scaling up Townscript, which will continue to operate as a separate business. Hemant Madhwani, a business development manager at Bookmyshow, will join Townscript to lead the venture.
Townscript works on a do-it-yourself ticketing model and helps organizers set up dedicated registration and ticketing pages within minutes using its website or mobile app. It lets clients customize event details, send promotional mailers, manage payment collection and refunds, and generate data-driven analysis of the event.
“We see this investment as the launch pad for a new round of innovation and fast-tracked progress. The investment will be primarily utilised towards building and improving the product offering to technology solutions that address all pain points of registration-based events right from school annual days, expos and conventions, to free-to-host charity, spirituality and fashion events,” Townscript co-founder Sharma said in a statement.
Over the last few years, Bookmyshow has beefed up its business on the back of acquisitions.
In 2013 it acquired Chennai-based Ticketgreen.com—a ticket-booking website with over 100 cinema partnerships— securing a foothold in Tamil Nadu. This was followed by the purchase of a majority stake in Eventifier, a social media analytics start-up, in 2015, and fan relationship management firm Fantain in early 2016. Both deals gave Bookmyshow insights into consumer behaviour and preferences that helped it create more focused products on its platform.
Source: Mint