Alibaba Group's film company Alibaba Pictures confirmed that it has acquired a majority stake in India's second-largest online ticketing company TicketNew in a deal worth 126 million yuan ($18.54 million), financial news website caixin.com reported Wednesday.
The deal marks the Chinese company's first overseas expansion, signaling its ambition to take the lead in India, one of the world's most populated countries, which offers huge potential in e-commerce.
Ramkumar Nammalvar, founder of TicketNew, was quoted in news outlet thedrum.com's report on Wednesday as saying that "online ticketing is increasingly becoming popular in second- and third-tier regions of India as well."