Online ticketing firm BookMyShow (BMS) has acquired Network 18’s food and restaurant recommendation platform Burrp for an undisclosed amount in an all-cash deal.

The acquisition includes transfer of Burrp’s key assets to BookMyShow, including employees and existing restaurant partnerships.

Burrp, founded by Deep Ubhi and Anand Jain in 2006 as a food and restaurant discovery platform, competes with food discovery and delivery company Zomato.

In addition to listings, Burrp recently ventured into offer redemption and couponing, along with ticketing of F&B events in over 12 cities.

Mansi Vora, Head, Mergers & Acquisitions, BookMyShow, said: “Movie going in India is a social activity and food is an integral part of it. This is where Burrp fits in for us.”

However, with the current acquisition, BookMyShow said that it does not plan to get into the food delivery business but will provide better experience, convenience and range to its users even as it bets big and is increasing investments in the ‘live event’ segment.

A BMS spokesperson said that both the apps will operate independently for now and there could be a possibility of integration of the services.

However, the spokesperson declined to divulge any further details, but added that the food and beverage segment for BookMyShow has been growing rapidly and has witnessed a 6x growth between FY-16 and FY- 17.

BookMyShow offers its users the option to pre-book their F&B at cinemas, while booking their movie tickets on BookMyShow.

It also offers exclusive and free discount coupons at popular restaurants and cafes in the vicinity of the cinema a user is visiting. The ticketing firm has partnered with more than 2,100 food retail brands in about 80 cities.

For BMS, which raised ₹550 crore from Stripes Group last year, Burrp is the third acquisition of the year.

In January, the company had acquired Hyderabad-based MastiTickets, and Pune-based DIY event platform Townscript in February.

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