ShareChat buys short-video platform MX TakaTak in a likely $700 mn deal

After the cash-and-stock transaction, MX Media and its shareholders will become strategic shareholders of ShareChat

Social media unicorn ShareChat has acquired short video app MX TakaTak from MX Media for $700 million, according to sources close to the developments, even as the two companies announced a strategic merger on Thursday. The deal involves a mix of cash and stock.

After the transaction, MX Media and its shareholders will become strategic shareholders of ShareChat. In December last year, ShareChat had raised $266 million in fresh funding from US-based Alkeon Capital and some existing investors, pushing its valuation to $3.7 billion.

ShareChat’s homegrown short video platform Moj and MX TataTak will have 100 million content creators, over 300 million Monthly Active Users (MAU), and nearly 250 billion monthly video views.

Since its launch in July 2020, Moj has emerged as the largest Indian short video app, with over 160 million MAUs and over 50 million creator communities in the 15 Indian languages. The company has been investing heavily in social and live commerce and growing its AI/ML team which is now over 100 people strong and spread across the US, Europe, and India. 

MX TakaTak was launched in July 2020 and reached 150 million MAUs, across 10 languages. The platform’s deep access to content talent and understanding of the MX Media ecosystem user base has seen this high growth in a short span of time.

While MX TakaTak will continue to function as a separate platform for now, but the two platforms’ creator base, content supply and recommendation algorithms will be integrated. In the coming months, the experience of users and creators will converge enabling creators from both platforms to reach the most extensive set of audiences in India. This will provide users access to unique features including best-in-class camera creation tools with Snap filters, live commerce, and a vast music library. 

Ankush Sachdeva, CEO and co-founder of ShareChat and Moj, said, “MX TakaTak is a popular platform and this merger further solidifies our position in the short video ecosystem. With this development, we aim to build the largest original content platform on Moj along with the largest community of users across India.” 

Karan Bedi, CEO of MX Media said, “I am excited to announce the strategic merger of India’s two most popular social media platforms. As India's largest digital entertainment platform, MX has always strived to build superior world class products, and TakaTak is no exception.”

“This combined with Moj’s AI and execution capabilities makes the combined business a truly world class short video platform. MX has created two ‘unicorns’ within one business, unlocking significant value for our shareholders, and will now continue to double down on OTT, with significantly increased financial resources,” he added.