BookMyShow acquires restaurant discovery platform Burrp

Online entertainment ticketing firm, BookMyShow has acquired Mumbai-based local food and restaurant recommendation engine Burrp from Network18 in an all-cash deal. The acquisition includes transfer of Burrp’s key assets to BookMyShow, including employees and existing restaurant partnerships.

"The acquisition includes the transfer of Burrp's key assets to BookMyShow, including employees and existing restaurant partnerships," BookMyShow said in a statement. The deal was finalized at a meager 6.7 lakh, according to ET report, 2 months after the board of Network18 gave an in-principle approval to sell Burrp on the back of its paltry revenue contribution to its parent. The Network18 divestment has been made to Foodfesta Wellcare Private Limited, a subsidiary of BigTree Entertainment which owns and operates BookMyShow.

Burrp, founded by Deep Ubhi and Anand Jain in 2006 as a food and restaurant discovery platform is India's oldest food-tech business and currently lists over 56000 restaurants across 12 cities. Burrp's revenue during the 2016-17 fiscal year was Rs 56.67 lakh accounting for only 0.69 percent of Network18's turnover. The net worth as of 31st March 2017 stood at a negative Rs 28.89 crore, Network18 said.

The BookMyShow team says that the acquisition is completely in line with their current offerings. They said that Burrp will complement their existing movies and events business and help BookMyShow create food-led experiences around them. Mansi Vora, Head of Mergers and Acquisition, BookMyShow said, "Movie watching in India has evolved tremendously over the past few years. And since movie going is a social activity, with food being an integral part, Burrp fits the bill completely."

For BMS, which raised ₹550 crore from Stripes Group last year, Burrp is the third acquisition of the year. In January, the company had acquired Hyderabad-based MastiTickets, and Pune-based DIY event platform Townscript in February.