Bigtree Entertainment which operates the online ticketing venture BookMyShow has raised Rs 150 crore from SAIF Partners and existing investors Accel Partners and Network18, in what appears to be a valuation defining fund-raising. Network18 mentions that this investment values BookMyShow at more than Rs 1,000 crore. Prior to this this, BookMyShow had raised Rs 100 crore from Accel Partners in return for a minority stake in the company in August 2012. The company has raised a total investment of around Rs 300 crore, as per a Times of India report. The report also says that the investment is largely through primary shares with some amount of secondary share sale by founders. The company plans to use this investment to expand to smaller cities outside Tier I cities, build on its infrastructure and expand its offerings. BookMyShow founder Ashish Hemrajani has told TOI that they are currently targeting the top 50 cities for expansion. This funding will also be used to improve its mobile offerings, which reportedly accounts for nearly 50% of transactions on BookMyShow. BookMyShow mentions that it recently added 20 new cities and now has presence in over 200 cities. It is now looking to penetrate the single screen segment in each of those markets. The company claims to sell more than four million tickets per month and has apparently sold 100 million tickets until now. Last month, the company had added a new International section to offer tickets for International live events. It had partnered with the Geneva-based online ticket marketplace Viagogo for this initiative. The company had also mentioned that non-movie…
