Paytm Stock Rises After Selling Ticketing Business to Zomato

New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) Shares of Paytm's owner One97 Communications rose a little over 2 per cent in the morning trade on Thursday after the fintech company said it will sell its entertainment ticketing business to Zomato for Rs 2,048 crore.

The stock of the company climbed 2.09 per cent to trade at Rs 585.05 apiece on the BSE.

On the NSE, it went up 1.82 per cent to Rs 584.50 per scrip. In the intraday trade, shares of the Noida-based fintech company advanced more than 5 per cent to Rs 604.70 and 604.45 apiece on the NSE and BSE, respectively.

Meanwhile, shares of Zomato are trading almost flat at Rs 260.30 and 260 per share on the bourses.

In the morning trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 166.24 points or 0.21 per cent to 81,071.54, while NSE Nifty advanced 46.25 points to 24,816.45.

On Wednesday, One97 Communications said it will sell its entertainment ticketing business to Zomato for Rs 2,048 crore.

Entertainment ticketing business, including movies, sports, and events, will be available on the Paytm app during a transition period of up to 12 months, it said.

"One 97 Communications Ltd (OCL)...today announced, that it has entered into definitive agreements for the sale of its entertainment ticketing business that includes movies, sports and events (live performances) ticketing to Zomato Ltd," the company added.

The deal, valued at Rs 2,048 crore, underscores the value that Paytm has created through its entertainment ticketing business, bringing choice and convenience to millions of Indians with its services and scale, the company said.

Announcing the deal, Paytm said it allows the fintech to strengthen its focus on core payments and financial services distribution. Paytm said with its strong focus on long-term value creation, the company remains confident in substituting revenue from its entertainment ticketing business by expanding core business areas of payments and financial service distribution.

"This move allows us to continue focusing on long-term growth in our core areas and value creation for all stakeholders," a Paytm spokesperson said.

On the other hand, Zomato MD and CEO Deepinder Goyal in a letter to shareholders said, "The proposed acquisition helps us add more scale and offers newer use-cases (like movie and sports ticketing) to our customers in this segment".