Television Eighteen Aquires Bigtree

TV18 Venturing Into E-Business Of Ticketing

Television Eighteen India Ltd has informed BSE that The TV18 Group's, Internet arm, Web18 on March 07, 2007, has announced that it has acquired a majority stake in Bigtree Entertainment Pvt Ltd., the industry leader in Movie and Entertainment Ticketing. This investment will further strengthen the Group's position in the Internet and Mobile Transactions space.

Bigtree Entertainment Pvt Ltd., is India's premier comprehensive entertainment ticketing applications and solutions provider. The Company was founded in 1999 during the nascent stages of the multiplex and live entertainment boom. Over the past 8 years, Bigtree has established a strong brand presence in the Indian market by offering its integrated entertainment ticketing solutions and services across 35 cities in India. Bigtree fulfills an important need for the entertainment industry by providing ticketing applications to cinemas and entertainment venues. This is done through a complete suite of software products ranging from box office ticketing, concessions management, web ticketing, loyalty management software, film programming, bar code ticketing, voucher management etc.

Bigtree also specializes in ticket selling services to end consumers. Cinemas and event organizers are offered a complete solution through 16 call centers, Internet ticketing and a mobile ticketing platform. The Company provides the necessary software, processes, systems, door delivery options, cash collection, warehousing and accounting services, and currently handles over 2.5 million ticketing transactions annually for all major exhibition chains / centre across the country.

This acquisition strengthens Web18's position in the e-transactions space, both on the PC as well as mobile phones. The Company had acquired a significant stake in Yatra.com and Jobstreet.com India a few months ago.

According to Haresh Chawla, TV18 Group CEO, "This acquisition is in line with our strategy to strengthen our position in the Consumer Internet space. The Internet and Mobile markets are key to the Group's future and growth."

Source : Bombay Stock Exchange