HIGHLIGHTS
- ShareChat is worth around $4 billion (roughly Rs.29,980 crore)
- The parent company of ShareChat will now have two short-video apps in its portfolio.
- ShareChat intends to increase its usage of artificial intelligence techniques.
According to two sources, the parent firm of India's ShareChat will purchase local rival MX's short-video platform in a $700 million transaction, as competition heats up in a market where foreign investors have put significant stakes.
Since New Delhi banned ByteDance's TikTok and some other Chinese applications in 2020, following an India-China border dispute, Indian short-video apps have grown in popularity. After TikTok was banned, ShareChat's parent company, Mohalla Tech, established Moj, a comparable short-video sharing app that has amassed 160 million users and lists Meta's Instagram Reels as its main competitor.
According to individuals familiar with the discussions, ShareChat's parent company will purchase MX's short-video platform TakaTak in a cash-and-stock transaction.
According to one of the sources, the deal, worth over $700 million (around Rs. 5,250 crore), might be disclosed within days. Reuters is the first to report that the two parties have struck an agreement.
ShareChat, which is valued at over $4 billion (roughly Rs.29,980 crore) and has investors like as Singapore's Temasek Holdings and Twitter, declined to comment. MX's representative stated that she did not have any quick reaction.
With the acquisition of MX TakaTak, ShareChat's parent company now has two short-video applications in its portfolio.
According to one of the insiders, the business intends to expand its usage of artificial intelligence techniques and reach a much larger audience, since Moj has over 160 million users in India and MX has approximately 100 million.
