Russian Telco Giant Enters Event Ticketing Market

– Ponominalu.ru
one of Russia’s main addresses for concert tickets

Mobile Telesystems (MTS) has acquired much or all of two of the Russia’s biggest players in event ticketing, Ticketland.ru and Ponominalu.ru.

MTS acquired 100 percent of Ticketland.ru, which sells tickets for all event genres, but does particularly well in theater, and 78.2 percent of Ponominalu.ru, the country’s leader when it comes to selling concert tickets, according to MTS. The company plans to establish itself as “as a leading ticket operator in Russia.”

The acquisitions allow MTS to add a mobile ticket buying option to its service portfolio, which it markets to more than 100 million customers and which includes pay-TV, e-books and music. 

“With the ability to offer tickets to a range of live events, we’ll be able to offer ‘real-life’ experiences as part of our product range and do so with the benefits of discounts through our loyalty program,” said the company’s vice president of marketing Vyacheslav Nikolaev, adding that MTS customers would receive personalized event recommendations.

MTS disclosed the financial details of both deals: the 100 percent acquisition of Ticketland.ru was priced at RUB 3.25 billion ($57 million), Ponominalu.ru has been valued at RUB 495 million ($8.6 million) for a 100 percent stake. The ticket agency’s founder and CEO Mikhail Minin retains a 21.8 percent stake in Ponominalu.ru, with an option to sell his stake to MTS expiring in 2020. MTS also has the option of increasing its share to 100 percent by the end of 2020 depending on key business metrics.

– Vyacheslav Nikolaev
vice president of marketing at MTS

The company announced that both ticket operators would continue to operate as separate entities, managed by current management teams, adding that the regulating authorities already approved the transactions.

Nikolaev believes, “buying a ticket to a live event – whether it is a concert or a theater production– should absolutely be done through a smartphone. The convenience is too great not to bring these types of services to our customers, and it is obvious that MTS – with its size, scale and scope – should be at the forefront, driving growth in a significant market throughout Russia.

“On the basis of both Ticketland.ru and Ponominalu.ru, we expect to soon be in a leading position in this intriguing, developing market.”

Earlier this year, MTS entered the esports market by acquiring Praliss Enterprises, the parent company of European esports organization Gambit Esports, and creating a separate esports division within the company.

Many promoters and venue operators are eyeing the esports market, which New York based games market researcher Superdata has forecast to grow up to $2.3 billion by 2022. LA, Houston and Las Vegas all recently received the go-ahead for the construction of three esports venues.