In a recent announcement, the largest musical archives in India, Saregama announced to have acquired majority stake in a fast-growing digital entertainment company, Pocket Aces Pictures Private Limited. Saregama will acquire 51.8% shares for INR 174 crores with a clear path to further acquire another 41% stake in next 15 months at pre-agreed multiples. The transaction is an all-cash deal. This acquisition will further strengthen Saregama’s strategic ambition to take leadership position in New Music across all Indian languages.
Currently, Pocket Aces owns a huge relationship with 95M+ younger digital-first customers across Instagram, YouTube etc. The platform being a Youth-focussed digital content creator and publisher, boasts of an IP catalog of over 3000 content pieces ranging across web series, sketches, music videos and reels on its channels FilterCopy, Nutshell and Gobble, and releases over 30 new pieces of content every day. The company’s talent management arm, Clout, manages over 100+ digital influencers, and its long-form studio, Dice Media, has
created relatable youth-centric web series across OTT platforms such as Netflix, Hotstar, and Amazon.
Pocket Aces’ Revenue from Operations was Rs. 104 cr in FY23. Revenue has grown by 34% CAGR over the last 4 years and is expected to grow even faster in future. Acquiring Pocket Aces will add on a whole new dimension of IP and a distribution network of over 95 million
followers, which Saregama will leverage to further popularize its music library among the 18-35 audience segment. It will also create synergies across the artiste & influencer management and long-format video creation businesses of the two companies.
Avarna Jain, Vice Chairperson Saregama, said, “This acquisition signifies the confluence of tradition and innovation. While we have always been leaders in the realm of music and media, this partnership with Pocket Aces will add new dimensions to our business as we tap into the burgeoning young digital audiences.”
About Saregama: Formerly known as The Gramophone Company of India Ltd., Saregama owns the largest music archives in India, one of the biggest in the world. The ownership of nearly 50 percent of all the music ever recorded in the India also makes Saregama the most authoritative repository of the country’s musical heritage. Saregama has also expanded into other branches of entertainment – publishing, film production and digital content.
