Nazara Bags Shareholders’ Nod To Fetch 48% Stake In Pokerbaazi’s Parent

Listed gaming major Nazara has obtained the shareholders’ approval to acquire a significant stake in Moonshine Technology, the parent firm of online poker platform Pokerbaazi, as the company looks to strengthen its position in the online skill-gaming sector.

In an exchange filing, the company said it received the shareholders’ nod for the deal at its extraordinary general meeting held on October 12.

This comes days after Inc42 reported that Nazara signed a definitive agreement to pick up a 47.7% stake in Moonshine Technology for INR 831.5 Cr in a secondary transaction from existing shareholders. 

Of this, INR 592.26 Cr will be paid by the company through cash, and the remaining INR 239.25 Cr will be paid through a share swap, representing a 3.17% stake in the company.

As part of the deal, Nazara has also invested an additional INR 150 Cr in primary capital in Moonshine Technology by issuing compulsorily convertible preference shares.

This would take the overall deal value to INR 981.5 Cr, the biggest investment bet by the diversified gaming and sports media firm to date.

Founded by Navkiran Singh in 2014, Moonshine Technology initially focussed on online poker (PokerBaazi) but later diversified into card games (CardBaazi), fantasy sports, and spectator gaming (SportsBaazi). 

Pokerbaazi comprised 85% of Moonshine Technology’s total revenue in the financial year 2023-24 and had a strong active user base of 3.4 Lakh as of May 2024.

In the online poker market, its primary competitors are Games24x7’s PokerCircle, Head Digital Works’s A23 Poker, Gameskraft’s Pocket52, Mobile Premier League (MPL), and Spartan Poker.

Nazara’s investment in Moonshine Technology comes at a time when the online gaming industry is still grappling with a lack of regulatory clarity and fallout from the Centre’s decision last year to hike the goods and services tax (GST) on online games and casinos from 18% to 28%.

The deal is part of Nazara’s broader efforts to boost its gaming business. In March, Nazara said it has set aside $100 Mn for global expansion over the next two years. Notably, India’s first listed gaming firm has been on a funding and expansion spree lately.

Last month, Nazara said it was acquiring a 15.86% stake in the gaming community platform GetStan Technologies for INR 18.4 Cr. More recently, the company said that its board approved a proposal to raise INR 900 Cr via a preferential equity issue. 

Shares of Nazara ended 1.3% lower at INR 918.3 apiece on the BSE on Tuesday.

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