Nazara to add Rs 800-1,000 crore to M&A war chest: Nitish Mittersain
ETtech
Synopsis
Nazara Technologies is targeting global gaming studios with established intellectual properties, strong teams, annual revenue of around Rs 100 crore and an earnings margin before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda margin) of at least 20% for acquisition.
Online gaming firm Nazara Technologies, which has been on an acquisition spree, has earmarked Rs 800–1,000 crore ($94-117 million) this year to fuel inorganic growth, chief executive Nitish Mittersain told ET.
Nazara is also open to pursuing deals that are larger than these and may raise additional capital if required, said Mittersain, also its joint managing director.
“This year, we will continue to aggressively acquire gaming studios outside of India. Like what we did with Fusebox, we can expect to see more acquisitions of gaming studios with already established revenue and profitability,” he said.
Nazara’s specific areas of interest for future mergers and acquisitions include narrative and simulation games, casual and mid-core mobile games, sports media, gamified learning, and platforms built around user-generated content.
The company is actively scouting opportunities in North America and Europe, as well as the Middle East and North Africa region and Southeast Asia with rapidly growing mobile-first gaming audiences.
While overseas acquisitions remain a priority, it is investing in its publishing division in India and is in discussions with global developers to relaunch their existing games in the local market under the Nazara banner.
“The second biggest priority is to scale up Nazara Publishing in India in a big way,” Mittersain said.
Acquisition play
Nazara acquired UK-based Fusebox Games in 2023 for $27.2 million. Since the deal, Fusebox’s revenue has grown from Rs 87 crore to Rs 116 crore by mid-2024, while Ebitda rose from Rs 11.7 crore to Rs 33.3 crore. The studio is known for narrative-driven titles such as Love Island and plays into Nazara’s broader push in narrative-driven gaming.
Other acquisitions include edtech app Kiddopia, in which Nazara first invested in 2020 by picking up a 51% stake for Rs 43 crore and took full ownership by July 2024. Kiddopia’s revenue has grown 300% since the initial investment, reaching an annualised run rate of Rs 175 crore. Nazara also acquired US-based WildWorks, the developer of Animal Jam, for $10.4 million in 2022. Both acquisitions indicate Nazara’s focus on IP-led games aimed at younger audiences.
Recently, the company’s board approved five new investments totalling Rs 196 crore, including the full acquisition of Absolute Sports that owns sports media platform Sportskeeda. Other recent bets include early-stage ventures such as Learntube.ai (an AI-based gamified learning platform), Funky Monkeys (a chain of physical entertainment centres for kids) and ReelSaga (a short-form interactive storytelling platform).
Equity game
In January, Arpit Khandelwal of Plutus Wealth Management and Caratlane founder Mithun Sacheti invested Rs 495 crore through Axana Estates LLP, acquiring a 5.4% stake in Nazara via a preferential allotment priced at Rs 990 per share. The deal triggered a mandatory open offer.
Prior to this, in November 2024, Nazara raised Rs 855 crore through a preferential issue of over 8.9 million shares to fund strategic acquisitions. SBI Mutual Fund led the round with a Rs 220 crore investment, alongside Junomoneta Finsol, Think Investments, Discovery Investments and Sacheti.
Last month, Nazara completed the sale of its 94.85% stake in OpenPlay Technologies, which operates the Classic Rummy platform, to PokerBaazi parent Moonshine Technology.
In the October-December quarter of last year, Nazara reported a 53% year-on-year decline in net profit to Rs 13.6 crore, even as operating revenue jumped 67% to Rs 534.6 crore. It has yet to report the results for the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31.
On Thursday, Nazara’s shares closed trading 0.3% higher at Rs 969.25 on the BSE.
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The company is targeting global gaming studios with established intellectual properties, strong teams, annual revenue of around Rs 100 crore and an earnings margin before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda margin) of at least 20% for acquisition.Nazara is also open to pursuing deals that are larger than these and may raise additional capital if required, said Mittersain, also its joint managing director.
“This year, we will continue to aggressively acquire gaming studios outside of India. Like what we did with Fusebox, we can expect to see more acquisitions of gaming studios with already established revenue and profitability,” he said.
Nazara’s specific areas of interest for future mergers and acquisitions include narrative and simulation games, casual and mid-core mobile games, sports media, gamified learning, and platforms built around user-generated content.
The company is actively scouting opportunities in North America and Europe, as well as the Middle East and North Africa region and Southeast Asia with rapidly growing mobile-first gaming audiences.
ADVERTISEMENT
While overseas acquisitions remain a priority, it is investing in its publishing division in India and is in discussions with global developers to relaunch their existing games in the local market under the Nazara banner.
“The second biggest priority is to scale up Nazara Publishing in India in a big way,” Mittersain said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Acquisition play
Nazara acquired UK-based Fusebox Games in 2023 for $27.2 million. Since the deal, Fusebox’s revenue has grown from Rs 87 crore to Rs 116 crore by mid-2024, while Ebitda rose from Rs 11.7 crore to Rs 33.3 crore. The studio is known for narrative-driven titles such as Love Island and plays into Nazara’s broader push in narrative-driven gaming.
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Other acquisitions include edtech app Kiddopia, in which Nazara first invested in 2020 by picking up a 51% stake for Rs 43 crore and took full ownership by July 2024. Kiddopia’s revenue has grown 300% since the initial investment, reaching an annualised run rate of Rs 175 crore. Nazara also acquired US-based WildWorks, the developer of Animal Jam, for $10.4 million in 2022. Both acquisitions indicate Nazara’s focus on IP-led games aimed at younger audiences.
Recently, the company’s board approved five new investments totalling Rs 196 crore, including the full acquisition of Absolute Sports that owns sports media platform Sportskeeda. Other recent bets include early-stage ventures such as Learntube.ai (an AI-based gamified learning platform), Funky Monkeys (a chain of physical entertainment centres for kids) and ReelSaga (a short-form interactive storytelling platform).
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Mittersain said Nazara’s operating model allows the acquired companies to remain independent while leveraging its broader platform for publishing, monetisation and distribution.Equity game
In January, Arpit Khandelwal of Plutus Wealth Management and Caratlane founder Mithun Sacheti invested Rs 495 crore through Axana Estates LLP, acquiring a 5.4% stake in Nazara via a preferential allotment priced at Rs 990 per share. The deal triggered a mandatory open offer.
Prior to this, in November 2024, Nazara raised Rs 855 crore through a preferential issue of over 8.9 million shares to fund strategic acquisitions. SBI Mutual Fund led the round with a Rs 220 crore investment, alongside Junomoneta Finsol, Think Investments, Discovery Investments and Sacheti.
Last month, Nazara completed the sale of its 94.85% stake in OpenPlay Technologies, which operates the Classic Rummy platform, to PokerBaazi parent Moonshine Technology.
In the October-December quarter of last year, Nazara reported a 53% year-on-year decline in net profit to Rs 13.6 crore, even as operating revenue jumped 67% to Rs 534.6 crore. It has yet to report the results for the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31.
On Thursday, Nazara’s shares closed trading 0.3% higher at Rs 969.25 on the BSE.
