Homegrown social media platform ShareChat, wthe parent of short-video platform Moj, announced a “strategic merger” with Times Internet-owned MX Taka Tak on Thursday.
The deal, which was first reported by Mint in October, will allow Sharechat to control both Moj and Taka Tak with a combined strength of 100 million creators and 300 million monthly active users (MAUs).
As a part of the agreement, MX Media Co. Ltd and its shareholders will become strategic shareholders of ShareChat. MX Taka Tak will continue to function as a separate platform “for now”, but the creator base, content supply and recommendation algorithms of the two platforms will be integrated, the company said. Taka Tak will also gain access to Snapchat’s camera technology. The American instant messaging platform is an investor in ShareChat.
“With this development, we aim to build the largest original content platform on Moj along with the largest community of users across India,” Ankush Sachdeva, chief executive and co-founder, ShareChat, said in a statement.
The companies did not confirm the deal value, but a Reuters report earlier said it would be around $700 million.
The acquisition hints at consolidation in India’s short-video market. Platforms such as Moj, MX Taka Tak and ad-tech giant InMobi’s Roposo had all gained from the government’s ban on China’s TikTok two years ago. Roposo has pivoted to live video.
ShareChat’s parent, Mohalla Tech, has over 2,000 employees, while MX Taka Tak has nearly 150. The Taka Tak team will also join ShareChat, and the acquisition will help bolster its position in the short-video market in India.
An October 2021 report by Bain and Co. said Moj leads the short video market, 85% of which is accounted for by the top five players, including Taka Tak, Josh, Roposo and China’s Zili.
The report said India’s online video user base had reached 350 million, growing at double the rate of countries such as China and Indonesia.
Source: Mint