SAIF leads $25m round for India's BookMyShow

Existing investors Accel Partners and Network18 also took part in the round.

The transaction - which values the business at over INR10 billion - takes the firm's total funding to around INR2.2 billion. Network18 first acquired 60% of Bigtree for INR200 million before Accel contributed INR100 million in 2012 - half the investment went to the company and while the other half went to Network18.

Bigtree is looking to invest in expanding beyond tier one cities, building its infrastructure and expanding its offering. Currently, the firm - which was set up in 1999 and counts the likes of KyaZoonga among its competitors - claims a presence in over 200 cities and to have sold over 100 million tickets.

Bigtree also aims to further penetrate the single-screen cinema segment, having added 300 single-screen theaters to its network in the past year.

"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," Deepak Gaur, managing director of SAIF, said in a statement.

SAIF also backs Network18's other e-commerce venture HomeShop18, which is due to go public in the US.

Avendus Capital was the financial advisor on this transaction, with BMR Legal serving as legal advisor.

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• Topics
• Early-stage
• Technology
• South Asia
• Consumer
• Technology
• India
• Consumer
• SAIF Partners
• Accel Partners