The Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed online gaming company made its public market debut in March and in the process became India’s first publicly listed gaming company.
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Gaming and sports media company Narzara Technologies has cast its net as far as the United states and Europe. The company’s stock rose 4.35% to a new high of Rs 2,745 against the previous close of Rs 2,630 on BSE last week and recently they raised about Rs 315 crore to accelerate its acquisition strategy and it has been actively scouting and acquiring companies over the last five years. It is now looking to fill some gaps in its casual, social multiplayer, eSports and real money gaming segments.
“We are looking at expanding our M&A team outside India. All our M&A has broadly happened in India because we are a product of the Indian ecosystem,” said chief executive Manish Agarwal. “We want to really kind of expand our M&A into Europe and US, especially in the mobile gaming space because that’s where you have a long history of game development in Europe for 40 years versus India for four-five years.”
The Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed online gaming company made its public market debut in March and in the process became India’s first publicly listed gaming company.
The gaming firm issued 1.42 million shares to Gamnat Pte and Plutus Wealth Management at Rs 2,206 per share, a discount of 16 per cent to the company’s price last week. This infusion of fresh funds will be utilised to invest in growth initiatives as well as pursue strategic acquisitions in various business verticals of the company, Nazara Tech said.
“This money which we have raised is a war chest for us to quickly accelerate the deals. If you notice in the past, our deal is always done with a combination of our equity and cash,” said Agarwal. “Having cash really helps you in closing things because then you can satisfy the demands of the founders or financial security needs of the founders much better if you have some cash upfront that you can give.”
As per the reports by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), the Indian gaming market is poised to reach USD 6-7 billion dollar by 2025 from USD 1.8 billion currently.
The gaming industry’s growth was phenomenal during the COVID-19 pandemic as people resorted to video games and eSports for entertainment and it is expected to grow further.
Nazara’s IPO in March had a secondary share sale component worth Rs 583 crore, and the company did not raise fresh funds. The new capital will help the company double down on acquisitions.
“What happens is that it’s a chicken and egg. When you find good teams, and if you do not have money, then you can’t close a deal. Because once you have that money, you’ll find a good team, your ability to close the transaction becomes much better and faster,” Agarwal said.
