Web18 buys movie ticketing firm Bigtree

Web18, the Internet arm of the Television Eighteen group has acquired around 60% stake in movie and entertainment ticketing company Bigtree Entertainment for $3 to 4 million.

"Web18's vision is to be the leader in the consumer Internet space. With the rapid increase in the number of multiplexes nationwide, digital screens and a host of other entertainment options including live shows, we believe that a Web18-Bigtree partnership is best positioned to build a brand that will become the destination for entertainment ticketing for cinema, live entertainment, sporting and shows," Surya Mantha, CEO, Web18, said.

Bigtree Entertainment is a comprehensive entertainment ticketing applications and solutions provider and services across 35 cities in India. The company provides ticketing applications to cinemas and entertainment venues via a complete suite of software products like box office ticketing, concessions management, web ticketing, loyalty management software, film programming, bar code ticketing, voucher management and others.

The majority stake acquisition is in addition to the Web18's recent acquition in web portals Yatra.com and Jobstreet.com India.