Stripes Group is a New York based venture capital firm
AB Wire
Mumbai based movie and event ticketing platform BookMyShow owned by Bigtree Entertainment, has raised $81.5 million (Rs 550 crore) funding from US based Stripes Group, and saw participation from all existing investors- Network 18, Accel Partners, and SAIF Partners .
BookMyShow said the deal valued the company at Rs 3,000 crore and it is one of the biggest funding rounds for internet startups this year.
“We are excited to welcome Stripes Group on board as our newest partner, which comes with a wealth of experience in digital entertainment asset. With BookMyShow being their first investment in the Indian market, alongside the display of confidence by our existing investors Network 18, Accel Partners and SAIF Partners, this is an overall testament to how they believe in our roadmap for growth and innovation within the entertainment space,” said Ashish Hemarajani, CEO and Co-Founder BookMyShow.
The company’s biggest revenue stream is movie ticketing, which generates about 50-55% of the sales. Ticketing for sporting and other events contributes 35%, and advertising the rest. The company aims to strengthen its position as the largest online entertainment ticketing platform in India.
“These funds will be utilized towards rolling out exclusive entertainment experiences on BookMyShow, enhancing the overall offering for our users, while we hopefully build out a 360 degree gateway of entertainment in India,” Hemarajani added.
Stripes Group is a New York based venture capital firm that focuses on areas such as internet, software-as-a-service, digital media and e-commerce with $1.5 billion of assets under management.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with three very special founders- Ashish, Rajesh and Parikshit as well as a world class team and group of investors at BookMyShow. We look forward to sharing our operational and investing experience with online transactional and ticketing businesses, as well as digital media, to help the company continue to scale,” said Dan Marriott, Managing Partner of Stripes Group.
BookMyShow sold 100 million tickets in 2015-16 –double than the year before and the company has also started operations in Bangladesh, Indonesia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.