Matrimony.com to buy wedding planning firm ShaadiSaga for Rs 11 cr

Matrimony.com on Wednesday said it will acquire Boatman Tech, which operates online wedding services company ShaadiSaga.com, for about Rs 11 crore.

The deal will enable Matrimony.com to scale up its presence significantly in the North and West regions, strengthen its product capabilities and become the largest wedding services player across the country, a regulatory filing said.

"Matrimony.com Ltd is acquiring a 100 per cent stake in Boatman Tech Pvt Ltd, which does business under the brand ShaadiSaga...With this strategic acquisition, we see further synergies to accelerate growth and value enhancement for our customers through scaling up supply side in North and West markets, garnering a larger demand base and becoming an industry-leading player in this space," it added.

The cost of acquisition - which is expected to be completed by July 31, 2021 - is "Rs 11 crore (subject to adjustments at the the shares are acquired; time of closing)", it added.

Founded in 2015, ShaadiSaga is a wedding services company providing a one-stop platform for customers in India to discover and decide on vendors in the context of organising their weddings. Its revenue stood at Rs 2.11 crore in FY21. Based in Delhi, it has over 40,000 vendors across multiple categories.

Matrimony.com is already in the wedding services business operating under the brands weddingbazaar.com and mandap.com.

Following the acquisition, ShaadiSaga's founders - Himanshu Kapsime (CEO) and Manish Garg (COO), along with another key leader - Niraj Patel (CPO) will join Matrimony.com in senior leadership roles, a statement said.

Murugavel Janakiraman, Chairman and Managing Director of Matrimony.com Ltd, said wedding services have immense potential to create a big impact with the company's customers.

"With this strategic acquisition, we will accelerate our growth through supply enhancement and superior product capabilities. We intend to integrate ShaadiSaga's product, technology and social media assets with our offerings i.e., WeddingBazaar.com and Mandap.com," he added.

This deal will significantly strengthen the positioning of Wedding Bazaar.com and Mandap.com in the industry and will enable both brands to become the number one wedding services brands pan-India, Janakiraman said.

Himanshu Kapsime, co-founder and CEO of ShaadiSaga, said with Matrimony.com, the company has the potential and ability to significantly scale the business and drive consumer adoption of an industry-leading next-gen wedding planning solution.

"With Matrimony.com's decades of expertise, scale and resources, I am confident that we will be able to offer a superior experience for our customers and will be a strong partner to wedding vendor partners we work with," ShaadiSaga co-founder and COO Manish Garg said.