ALTBalaji Acquires 17.5% Stake In Celebrity Engagement Platform Tring As a part of the transaction, the OTT platform will be able to appoint one board member to represent it on the board of Tring's parent company
By Debarghya Sil •
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Indian over-the-top (OTT) platform ALTBalaji on Monday announced that it has acquired 17.5 per cent stake in the online celebrity digital engagement platform Tring. As a part of the deal, the OTT platform will be able to appoint one board member to represent it on the board of B.D Inno Ventures Pvt Ltd, the parent company of Tring
ALTBalaji, a wholly owned subsidiary of Balaji Telefilms Limited, has witnessed doubling of its subscription on yearly basis. Around 65 per cent of its viewers belong to tier-II and tier-III towns and cities. The company claims to remain among top five paid apps in the country since its launch in 2017, thus exhibiting its strong brand affinity with Indian internet audiences. Its investment will value Tring at INR 100 crore.
Commenting on the development, Shobha Kapoor, managing director (MD) Balaji Telefilms, said, "Balaji Telefilms has always believed in investing ahead of the curve and this investment in Tring allows us to better connect with audiences across India. We have successfully taken ALTBalaji to new heights since we launched in 2017, and today, we are one of the most loved Hindi OTT with award-winning shows on the platform. The team at Tring has done a tremendous job in such a short period, and we are confident that with our investment and support, they will scale much faster, bringing audiences closer to the celebrities they adore. We look forward to growing our businesses, given the numerous synergies that exist between Balaji Telefilms and Tring across target markets and customers."
Ekta Kapoor, joint MD, Balaji Telefilms, said, "Having been in the business of entertainment for more than two decades now, we value the bond between celebrities and their fans. Both ALTBalaji and Tring work with talent and try to bring them a step closer to their fans and vice-versa. We believe this synergy will work in favour of both the brands and help each other widen our reach. We believe in the talented team at Tring, who has immense potential to take the business to new heights."
The celebrity video shoutout space Tring started by Akshay Saini, Rahul Saini and Pranav Chabhadia in February this year has more than 200 celebrities and claims to have registered multi-fold growth month on month. The platform has personalized video shoutouts/messages, live video calls, DMs on Instagram for personalized two way engagement with their fans.
Tring's Akshay said, "It gives us immense confidence that industry stalwarts like the Balaji Telefilms group promoted by Mrs. Shobha Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor have invested in Tring and their belief in the Tring value proposition shows the potential of celebrity commerce space in India. Having them as partners in this journey provides valuable and key strategic inputs for Tring as we continue our market penetration and reach the masses. My co-founders Rahul and Pranav, with Tring's core team of AdvaitKhadse and Mihir Parikh, and the fantastic team at Tring have contributed immensely to this journey we are on. We have just begun, it is day one."
