Network 18 Media hits the roof after fresh investment in BookMyShow

Network 18 Media & Investments hit an upper circuit limit of 5% at Rs 63.95 at 11:49 IST on BSE after the company made an additional investment in Bigtree Entertainment, which owns online entertainment ticketing brand BookMyShow.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 6.22 points, or 0.02%, to 25,527.41.

On BSE, so far 1.70 lakh shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average volume of 3.76 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 63.95 and a low of Rs 61.15 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 71.45 on 9 June 2014. The stock hit a record low of Rs 25.10 on 3 September 2013.

The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 17 June 2014, rising 72.42% compared with 5.80% rise in the Sensex. The scrip had also outperformed the market in past one quarter, rising 91.97% as against Sensex's 17.02% rise.

The mid-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 523.33 crore. Face value per share is Rs 5.

Bigtree Entertainment, which owns India's leading online entertainment ticketing brand BookMyShow, has raised Rs 150 crore led by global private equity fund SAIF Partners. Existing investors Accel Partners and media firm Network18 also participated in the investment round that valued BookMyShow at Rs 1,000 crore.

With over 35 million visits and approximately 500 million page views, BookMyShow has grown to become one of the largest transacting e-commerce platforms in the country. The company has sold over 100 million tickets till date, the company said in a statement.

With this round of financing, Bigtree Entertainment is looking to invest in increasing its penetration outside Tier I cities, build on its infrastructure and expand its offering in order to take its customer experience to the next level.

On signing the deal, Mr. Ashish Hemrajani, Founder & CEO of BookMyShow, said "We are very happy to have SAIF Partners as our latest investors. The common vision of creating scalable and large businesses was aligned to our thought process. Their experience of having helped companies such as MakeMyTrip and Just Dial go public would be of immense value to us as we move forward in our growth plans. We are also very happy to have delivered value to our existing investors and the fact that both Network 18 and Accel have further invested in this round, shows their confidence in the company and the ability of the team to continue delivering and innovating."

Commenting on the transaction, Mr. Sarbvir Singh from Network18 said, "BookMyShow has emerged as the country's leading entertainment ticketing destination. The company continues to attract high pedigree investors and with SAIF Partners joining Accel Partners and Network18, the BookMyShow team will be able to further enhance customer experience and market leadership. We were happy to participate in the transaction and look forward to the next phase of the BookMyShow journey."

Bigtree Entertainment's BookMyShow.com is the largest entertainment ticketing portal in India with over 90% market share in the online entertainment ticketing space. Headquartered in Mumbai, BookMyShow.com has an enviable kitty of over 1800 screens spanning across 350 cinemas in more than 100 cities.

SAIF Partners India is a leading sector and stage agnostic fund with over $1 billion capital under management in the country.

Founded in 1983, Accel Partners has a long history of partnering with outstanding entrepreneurs and management teams to build world-class businesses. Accel today invests globally using dedicated teams and market-specific strategies for local geographies.

The Network18 Group is a media and entertainment company with interests in television, internet, films, e-commerce, magazines, mobile content and allied businesses. Through its subsidiary and investee companies Network18 also operates e-commerce properties like HomeShop18 and bookmyshow.com and publishes Forbes India, in collaboration with Forbes Media Inc.

On a consolidated basis, Network 18 Media & Investments reported net loss of Rs 4.12 crore in Q4 March 2014 compared with net profit of Rs 12.42 crore in Q4 March 2013. Total income rose 4.4% to Rs 762.90 crore in Q4 March 2014 over Q4 March 2013.

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