ShareChat, MX Media announce Moj-MX TakaTak merger in a $700 mn deal

Social media unicorn ShareChat has entered into a strategic partnership with MX Media for a merger of Moj and MX TakaTak to create India's largest short video platform. The deal is pegged at nearly $700 million, top sources told Business Today. As per the contours of the deal, MX Media and its shareholders have acquired a stake in Sharechat. As per an official handout, the combined short video platform will have 300 million monthly active users (MAUs) and 100 million creators.
 
MX TakaTak, which was launched in July 2020, has already reached 150 million MAUs, across 10 languages.
 
MX TakaTak will continue to function as a separate platform for now, but the two platforms’ creatorbase, content supply and recommendation algorithms will be integrated.
 
In the coming months, the experience of users and creators will converge enabling creators from both platforms to reach the most extensive set of audiences in India. This will provide users access to unique features, including best-in-class camera creation tools with Snap filters, live commerce, and a vast music library.
 
“We at ShareChat are building India’s largest content ecosystem which has been on anunprecedented growth trajectory. MX TakaTak is a popular platform and this merger furthersolidifies our position in the short video ecosystem. With this development, we aim to build the largest original content platform on Moj along with the largest community of users across India,” Ankush Sachdeva, CEO and co-founder, ShareChat & Moj, said.
 
According to analytics firm Redseer, the rapidly growing short video market, and especially India’s short-form video apps, which includes names like Josh, Roposo, Moj and Mx TakaTak, have been able to leverage the local language features, simple interfaces as well accelerated digital adoption during pandemic and lockdowns, with a push coming from Indian cities beyond metros.
 
The combined monthly active userbase of the home-grown short video apps, beyond India’s 50 cities, as per Redseer report, now stands at 170-190 million. Notably, TV viewership is still reigning supreme , amassing 530-550 million users on a monthly basis.
 
“I am excited to announce the strategic merger of India’s two most popular social media platforms. As India's largest digital entertainment platform, MX has always strived to build superior world class products, and TakaTak is no exception. This, combined with Moj’s AI and execution capabilities, makes the combined business a truly world class short video platform. MX has created two ‘unicorns’ with one business, unlocking significant value for our shareholders, and will now continue to double down on OTT, with significantly increased financial resources,” Karan Bedi, CEO MX Media, said.