Saregama India Acquires Majority Stake In Filtercopy, Dice Media Owner Pocket Aces

Saregama India Ltd. on Thursday acquired a majority stake in digital entertainment company Pocket Aces Pictures Pvt., which owns online properties such as Dice Media and Filtercopy.

Saregama, which is an RP Sanjiv Goenka Group company, will acquire a 51.8% stake in Pocket Aces for Rs 174 crore. Over the next 15 months, it will acquire another 41% stake in the Mumbai-based startup at pre-agreed multiples.

All tranches of the transaction are all-cash deals, the company said in an exchange filing. "This acquisition will further strengthen Saregama's strategic ambition to take a leadership position in new music across all Indian languages," it said.

Across its social media channels, Pocket Aces has about 9.5 crore subscribers and followers. It produces content pieces ranging across web series, sketches, music videos, and reels on its channels, FilterCopy, Nutshell, and Gobble.

It also owns a talent management arm, Clout, which manages over 100 digital influencers. Its long-form studio, Dice Media, has produced several web series across OTT platforms.

Pocket Aces posted revenue from operations of Rs 104 crore in FY23, according to the filing. "Revenue has grown by 34% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) over the last 4 years and is expected to grow even faster in the future," it said.

"It will also create synergies across the artist and influencer management and long-format video creation businesses of the two companies," it added.