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Tag: Accel Partners

  • Havas media bagged the integrated media mandate for BlueStone.com

    Havas media bagged the integrated media mandate for BlueStone.com

    MUMBAI: Havas media group has won the integrated media mandate of BlueStone.com, one of the leading online store for jewellery and accessories. The business of BlueStone.com is estimated at over INR 35 crore.

     

     “We are aggressively scaling up BlueStone. Havas media has the attitude, agility and skill to partner with us in this growth. We are glad to have them on board and see them as long term partners,” asserted BlueStone.com CEO Gaurav Kushwaha.

     

    BlueStone.com CMO Pushkar Jain said, “The Digital at Core philosophy of Havas Media is in line with our thinking. Their integrated media strengths further gave us the confidence that they know how to in navigate this territory.”

     

    “We were impressed with Havas Media’s passion and commitment towards BlueStone.com. We look forward to this association,” continued BlueStone.com VP marketing Ahshul Khandelwal.

     

    Speaking on the win, Havas media group-India and South Asia CEO Anita Nayyar asserted, “We are delighted at this win. Havas media has been growing at three times the market only because of our aggressive new business acquisitions. BlueStone adds another feather to our cap. We look forward to working with the very enterprising BlueStone team.”

     

    Havas media group-India managing director Mohit Joshi voiced, “Havas Media’s unique proposition focused on meaningful brands has given us an edge in acquiring new businesses. This win strengthens our new age client (dotcom) portfolio and further boosts our Bangalore operations.”

     

    BlueStone has received funding form Accel Partners, Kalaari Capital and Saama Capital, IvyCap Ventures, Dragoneer and Ratan Tata.

  • Flipkart raises $1 billion; to focus on mobile technology

    Flipkart raises $1 billion; to focus on mobile technology

    MUMBAI: Flipkart has raised $1 billion in one of the largest funding rounds for any e-commerce company, globally.

     

    The round led by existing investors, Tiger Global Management and Naspers, saw Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC, as the new investor along with existing investors Accel Partners, DST Global, ICONIQ Capital, Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Sofina also participating in the latest financing round.

     

    The funds will be used to make long-term strategic investments in India, especially in mobile technology.

     

    “We believe internet will improve the quality of life for millions of Indians, and e- commerce is going to play a huge role in this change. The focus at Flipkart is to continue to make shopping online simpler and more accessible through the use of technology,” said founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal.

     

    They added, “We have close to 22 million registered users today. We handle five million shipments a month. These numbers were unheard of a few years back and we are excited about the scale we have managed to achieve. But what is even more exciting is the huge opportunity that we still see before us.”

     

    India has 243 million internet users – and this number continues to grow very fast. By 2020, India will have more than half a billion mobile internet users. The platform will now focus on mobile and technology to take advantage of the massive opportunity.

     

    The new funding will enable it to step up its investments for innovations in products and technologies, setting it up to become the mobile e-commerce company of the future. It will help the e-retailer further accelerate momentum and build its presence to become a technology powerhouse.

     

    Over the past few years, Flipkart has led the supply-chain innovation in India. It has focused on making the online shopping experience as seamless as possible: being the first to launch 30 day replacement policy and the first player to run 24×7 customer support at scale in India, In-a-Day guarantee in 50 cities and the subscription service ‘Flipkart First’.

     

    Flipkart, which recently acquired Myntra, plans to continue investing in training sellers for the marketplace, providing all small  and  medium  entrepreneurs,  manufacturers  and  artisans  a  national  platform  to connect with millions of customers.

  • Network18, SAIF and Accel invest Rs 150 crore in BookMyshow

    Network18, SAIF and Accel invest Rs 150 crore in BookMyshow

    MUMBAI: The holding company of one of India’s leading online entertainment ticketing companies BookMyShow, Bigtree Entertainment has received a shot in the arm. The company’s existing investors Network18 and Accel Partners and its new investor SAIF Partners have together invested Rs 150 crore in the company.

     

    With this round of financing, the company is looking at increasing its penetration outside tier I cities, build its infrastructure and expand its offering in order to take customer experience to the next level. Avendus Capital was the sole financial advisor and BMR Legal was the legal advisor for this transaction.

    On signing the deal, BookMyShow founder and CEO Ashish Hemrajani said, “We are very happy to have SAIF Partners as our latest investors. The common vision of creating scalable and large businesses was aligned to our thought process. Their experience of having helped companies such as MakeMyTrip and Just Dial go public would be of immense value to us as we move forward in our growth plans. We are also very happy to have delivered value to our existing investors and the fact that both Network18 and Accel have further invested in this round, shows their confidence in the company and the ability of the team to continue delivering and innovating.”

     

    Commenting on the transaction, SAIF Partners MD Deepak Gaur said, “We are delighted to participate in this exciting journey of bringing world class convenience to consumers across entertainment verticals that BookMyShow offers. We are confident that with the current round of capital raise, BookMyShow team will continue to strengthen the relentless focus on innovation, customer service and technology as our country takes rapid strides in internet penetration.”

     

    Accel India partner Prashanth Prakash added, “As an industry leader, BookMyShow continues to set the agenda when it comes to movie and event experiences in India. We look forward to supporting the team in continuing to enhance value for their customers and realising the potential of becoming the default destination for consumers’ entertainment needs.”

     

    Commenting on the transaction, Capital 18 MD Sarbvir Singh said, “BookMyShow has emerged as the country’s leading entertainment ticketing destination. The company continues to attract high pedigree investors and with SAIF Partners joining Accel Partners and Network18, the BookMyShow team will be able to further enhance customer experience and market leadership. We were happy to participate in the transaction and look forward to the next phase of the BookMyShow journey.”

     

    A release from the company states that it gets more than 35 million visits and 500 million page views approximately and has sold more than 10 crore tickets till date. It has also re-launched a mobile app to facilitate ticketing in India and an additional 20 cities have been covered by adding new cinemas. BookMyShow now has a presence in over 200 cities and is trying to further penetrate the single screen cinema segment in each of these markets. 

     

    BookMyShow was the exclusive online ticketing partner for the ICC T-20 Championship in Bangladesh. The company is also the exclusive ticketing partner for many IPL teams which include Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils, Rajasthan Royals, Hyderabad Sun Risers, Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab. It also manages ticketing for IPL central rights along with accreditations. The other sport events for which BookmyShow has been the exclusive online ticketing partner are; Chennai Open Tennis championship, Super Fight League and Yonex Badminton.

  • Big Tree Entertainment expands South India footprint with Ticketgreen.com acquisition

    Big Tree Entertainment expands South India footprint with Ticketgreen.com acquisition

    MUMBAI: Big Tree Entertainment, the holding company of ticketing portal BookMyShow.com, has expanded its footprint in South India by snapping up Ticketgreen.com, a leading entertainment ticketing portal of South India and the flagship brand of Ticketgreen Solutions.

    The acquisition includes transfer of all key assets to BookMyShow.com along with all the existing cinema partnerships under the Ticketgreen brand.

    Ticketgreen.com enjoys a strong partnership with over 100 cinemas in South India and sells over 100,000 tickets per month. With this acquisition, BookMyShow.com aims to strengthen its presence in the South Indian market.

    BookMyShow.com currently tickets for over 350 cinemas in more than 150 cities across India and manages more than 1000 events a year as exclusive ticketing partners.

    Speaking on the acquisition, BookMyShow.com Founder and CEO Ashish Hemrajani said, “Acquiring Ticketgreen.com is a part of our expansion strategy to grow our footprint in the South Indian Market. This region being one of the most tech savvy markets in India, offers a huge potential for e-commerce. The acquisition has strengthened our market presence and provided the requisite local resources and talent pool to expand our presence further into Tier II & Tier III cities in South India.”

    Commenting on this development, Ticketgreen Director Vetri Selvan & Nagaraj Ruthirakotty said, “With this development, we hope to reach out to a larger online consumer base. The combined forces of our talent pool, local knowledge, BookMyShow.com’s wide reach and brand equity will help gain greater heights.”

    As part of this acquisition, the current employee base of Ticketgreen will be folded into BookMyShow.com and will contribute towards strengthening BookMyShow.com’s portfolio in South India.

    BookMyShow.com will also work on renewing the technological focus of the company (Ticketgreen) to improve its brand positioning in the market. Future innovations and enhancements under the brand will be in line with BookMyShow.com.

    BookMyShow.com recently raised funds worth Rs 1 billion from Accel Partners.

  • MEC bags media mandate of Bluestone.com

    MUMBAI: Online store for jewellery and accessories, Bluestone.com has awarded its media duties to MEC India.

    MEC will service the account from its Bangalore office. MEC India MD T Gangadhar said, “There is no better way to begin 2013 than this. We are excited about partnering BlueStone on their ambitious vision – a vision that could completely transform the jewellery retail landscape in India”.

    Founded by Gaurav Singh Kushwaha, BlueStone.com is funded by blue-chip investors, Accel Partners.

    Kushwaha said, “We are excited about taking BlueStone across a much wider canvas and are delighted to partner with MEC in this regard. MEC’s sound understanding of the digital space and their track record on e-commerce brands made our choice of agency easy. We look forward to a mutually rewarding partnership”.