Investors tussle for pre-IPO share of Nazara Capital

Thursday 30th of November 2017

Westbridge Capital has sold part of its stake in soon-to-be-listed Nazara Games for $51 million, marking the largest private investment in the gaming space in India to date, local media reports.

Founded in 2000, Nazara is known its products in the casual mobile gaming space. It is looking to enter the esports, and real money skill-based gaming space soon.

The buyer, known as IIFL Asset Management, will see Westbridge’s stake in the company drop from 55 percent to a little over 30 percent.

“The good thing about Nazara is that they are not a gaming developer which drives most of revenues from one hit release, but a diversified publisher. And they are also diversified across global markets and not just India. This makes the predictability of cash flows much stronger,” said Prashasta Seth, CEO of IIFL Asset Management.

“Right now, they generate most of the revenues from subscription revenues. But now we see an opportunity to increase revenues through in app purchases in games,” he added.

The Mumbai-based mobile gaming company is set to be part of India’s first public listing in the gaming space.

According to sources, the Rs 10 billion (US$156.6 million) IPO is aimed for the end of March 2018.

“It is expecting a valuation of 30-35 times projected profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 100 crore in FY19,“ said a source.

Mergers & Acquisitions Interactive Gaming Investment Sale Share Stake