Zomato, set to acquire Paytm’s entertainment ticketing business, will be launch its new app for the going-out business District, in the next few weeks. It plans to eventually transition and house its existing and acquired businesses in the going-out segment on the District app.

The food delivery and quick commerce major on Wednesday said it has inked a definitive agreement to acquire Paytm’s entertainment ticketing business for a total consideration of ₹2,048 crore. It expects this transaction to bet completed within this quarter.

The company said that post this acquisition, the going-out business would be spread across multiple different platforms. In a BSE filing , it explained that its existing going-out business, which includes dining-out and event ticketing, will continue to run on the Zomato app. “The acquired business (movie + sports + event ticketing) would continue to run on the Paytm’s main app, for a transition period of up to 12 months, along with Insider and TicketNew apps, which would both get transferred to Zomato as part of the transaction,” it added.

“In the short term, District app will duplicate the offerings and over time, we will gradually nudge our customers to move from the Zomato, Paytm, Insider and TicketNew apps to the District app. Once most customers start transacting on the District app, we will remove the duplication and shut-down this business on all the other apps,” the company stated in a letter to shareholders detailing the proposed acquisition.

The company noted that customers have to go to different apps to book movie tickets, IPL tickets, dining-out table reservations, discover live entertainment, booking weekend getaways, among others. “ We want to position “District” as the brand that consumers turn to when they are thinking of going out. In line with this thinking and our belief around building ‘super brands’ as opposed to ‘super apps’, we think that a new brand will help customers build association with going-out use cases and also allow us to build a loyalty program which drives higher retention,” Zomato’s management stated.

In an analyst report, Karan Taurani, Senior Vice-President, Elara Capital noted that the entertainment ticketing business has the potential to report a healthy CAGR of 15-20 per cent in the near-to-medium term This will be supported by factors such as rising per capita income, growing acceptance of live events in tier-2 markets, higher ticketing revenue, emergence of new sports events such as WPL, PKL and ISL among others. “Zomato’s live business, which is currently at an annualised run rate of ₹400 crore, will move up by 75 per cent to ₹700 crore post this acquisition,” Taurani said.

A report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services stated, “  Zomato has demonstrated its capability to unlock value from its acquisitions earlier (most notably Blinkit). On its own, the District app could be a small part of Zomato’s business, but if executed correctly, it could give Zomato a strong mind share in the spending patterns of urban consumers across key forms of recreational or staple spending: groceries, food, and recreational “going[1]out” activities spanning dining, movies, sports, and music.”

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