Alibaba buys Chennai’s TicketNew to further online business

CHENNAI: Alibaba Pictures Group Limited, the Alibaba Group’s entertainment arm, has acquired a majority stake in Chennai-based online ticketing platform, TicketNew. Alibaba intends to invest Rs 120 crore in TicketNew over a period of time.

This acquisition marks Alibaba Group’s foray into the entertainment industry. In addition to its office in Los Angeles, Alibaba, with this acquisition, will have an office now in India.

TicketNew was founded in 2007 by Ramkumar Nammalvar. The website has a presence in over 300-plus cities in India. This investment is viewed as a win-win situation as Alibaba’s financial power and TicketNew’s expertise in online ticket booking would be explored.