Nazara Technologies To Increase Stake In Absolute Sports, Invest In Brandscale Innovations

Mumbai-based gaming startup Nazara Technologies on Saturday (June 18) said that it will invest an additional INR 20.10 Cr in its material subsidiary Absolute Sports Private Limited, which runs the sports news website Sportskeeda.

In a regulatory filing, the startup said that its board approved the investment on Saturday which will be done by way of secondary purchase of equity shares from Absolute promoter Porush Jain. 

The proposed investment will further consolidate Nazara’s holding in a “fast-growing and highly profitable” subsidiary, it said. 

“The aforesaid investment in Absolute is subject to negotiation and agreement on definitive documentation and fulfillment of the certain conditions and receipt of corporate and regulatory approvals required, if any,” the filing added.

Besides, Nazara also said that its board approved an investment of up to INR 10 Cr in gaming accessories manufacturer Brandscale Innovations in the form of optionally convertible debentures(OCDs).

“Brandscale Innovations is currently performing exceptionally well and in order to further accelerate their growth, the company is making the aforesaid proposed investment,” stated Nazara.

The gaming company’s latest investment in Brandscale Innovations comes within months after its subsidiary NODWIN Gaming acquired a 35% stake, valued at INR 10.01 Cr in Wings, a gaming accessories brand owned by Brandscale, in April.

Nishit Sharma founded Wings in 2018 and he was joined by Vijay Venkateswaran as a cofounder in 2021. The company’s gaming accessories include gaming earbuds and neckbands, with product expansion planned into keyboards, soundbars, headphones, speakers and mice. 

The percentage of Nazara’s shareholding at Brandscale post the subscription of the OCDs shall depend on their conversion, the filing said.

In March this year, Nazara announced the acquisition of a 33% stake in the advertising technology firm Datawrkz in March.

Nazara reported a 273% year-on-year (YoY) rise in its consolidated profit after tax (PAT) for FY22 at INR 50.7 Cr. Its revenue from operations also grew 37% YoY to INR 621.7 Cr in FY22, primarily driven by growth in its esports business segment.

The Indian online gaming and esports market is growing rapidly, on the back of a boost received from the Covid-19 pandemic.

As per a 2021 KPMG report, the number of online gamers in India grew to about 400 Mn by mid-2020. The number stood at about 250 Mn in 2018. It made India the second-largest base of online gamers after China. 

The report also stated that the country’s online gaming market is expected to reach about $3.9 Bn by 2025.