Digital payments and e-commerce company Paytm has acquired Orbgen Technologies, the entity that operates Chennai-based online ticketing platform TicketNew, in a bid to fortify its entertainment ticketing business. While Paytm did not disclose the deal financials, the stock-based transaction is pegged between $30 million and $40 million and will hereby see Paytm acquire the business from Alibaba Pictures, the entertainment arm of Chinese Internet giant Alibaba Group, which had acquired a majority stake in TicketNew in June 2017according to the people aware of the deal dynamics.

Madhur Deora, Chief Financial Officer, and SVP, Paytm said, “We are on a mission to be the one-stop destination for all movie and entertainment ticketing needs. It is our goal to be the leader in every city in India and offer the opportunity to all cinema partners to reach Paytm’s customers. TicketNew founders have built a fantastic business in South India and share the same partnership mindset as Paytm. Under their leadership, Paytm is seeking to connect TicketNew partner cinemas to Paytm’s more than 300 million customers and further invest in helping grow their occupancy and revenues. With this acquisition, we have taken a step closer to our goal of making Paytm Entertainment the No 1 player in this space.”