As a part of its fintech strategy, Zomato, the food delivery giant is in active talks with One97 Communications Ltd, the parent company of Paytm to acquire its movie and event ticketing business, which according to the experts is a strategy to divest its non-core assets. As per sources, if finalised, the deal could end up near Rs 1,500 crore.Clarification from ZomatoDuring the advance talks, Zomato after the regulatory filings on Sunday, ended the speculations and said that both companies are in active talks for the transaction, however, no binding decision has been taken at this stage that would warrant a Board approval and subsequent disclosure by applicable law. The negotiations are continuing to close the deal over Rs 1,500 crore.It is worth noting that this would be Zomatos second-largest acquisition after Blinkit in 2022 for Rs 4,447 crore. According to experts, with this, Zomato would expand its entertainment segment, including organizing events and food festivals. On the other side, Paytm previously acquired Insider.in and TicketNew to strengthen its entertainment ticketing business. According to the reports, Paytm has also confirmed the talks with the food delivery app but did not specifically mention Zomato. With this, it is believed that Paytm plans to focus on payment and financial services.Now, on this development, the investors will keep a close eye on how the stock market may unfold on Tuesday.
