BookMyShow enters into food business

Online entertainment ticketing firm BookMyShow (BMS) has acquired Burrp, a Mumbai-based local restaurant recommendation engine, from Network18.

The acquisition is being carried out on a slump sale basis by Foodfesta Wellcare, an arm of Big Tree, an associate firm of Reliance Industries, which is also the promoter group company of Network18.

The acquisition includes transfer of Burrp’s key assets to BookMyShow, including employees and existing restaurant partnerships.

Big Tree owns and operates BookMyShow platform.

In a regulatory filing, Network18 stated that the consideration for the slump sale is Rs 6.7 lakh and has been determined on the basis of valuation carried out by EY.

Burrp is India’s oldest food-tech business and currently lists over 56,000 restaurants across 12 cities.

Burrp’s revenue during FY2016-17 was Rs 56.67 lakh accounting for 0.69 per cent of Network18’s turnover. The net worth as on March 31, 2017 stood at a negative Rs 28.89 crore.

Founded in 2006, Burrp was a prominent player in the restaurant discovery space until it lost ground to competitor Zomato.

BookMyShow has been focusing on transforming into a complete entertainment destination as it faces competition from new players like Paytm.