Investment firm KKR is reportedly in advanced talks to invest up to ₹2,505 crore for a significant minority stake in ticket-booking platform BookMyShow, which is backed by Reliance Industries.
What Happened: This investment comes at a valuation of ₹7,500 crore, signaling a positive turnaround for BookMyShow after the challenging Covid years. If successful, this will be the largest fundraising round for Bigtree Entertainment, the operator of BookMyShow.
Currently, Reliance unit Network18 holds the largest stake at 37%, with other investors including Accel, Elevation Capital, Stripes Group and TPG Growth.
The last significant fundraising round for BMS was in 2018 during its series D round, bringing in $100 million (₹831 crore). However, this current investment by KKR marks a notable milestone. The founders, led by Ashish Hemrajani, who is also the CEO, along with Parikshit Dar and Rajesh Balpande, own about 23% of the company.
The Numbers Game: BookMyShow has shown resilience and recovery after the challenges posed by Covid, organizing events like Lollapalooza and selling program tickets. Despite a tough FY21 with restricted entertainment activities, the company rebounded with a 1,200% growth in the last two fiscal years, recording its first-ever profit in FY23 at ₹85 crore, compared to a loss of ₹92 crore in FY22.
The company’s revenue from operations surged to ₹976 crore in FY23 from ₹277 crore in FY22, showcasing a 3.5 times increase. Around 65-70% of sales come from movie tickets, and BookMyShow is expected to close FY24 with a ₹1,400 crore top line at an 18-20% EBITDA margin. The company’s diverse revenue streams include advertising, marketing, streaming, sale of food and beverages, and non-operating income.
With higher footfall in multiplexes due to hit movies, BMS has seen impressive gross collections in 2023. The company is also diversifying into experiential events and live shows, aligning with the expanding entertainment spends in India.
(The article is published under a mutual content partnership arrangement between The Free Press Journal and Benzinga)
