Nazara To Raise Another INR 900 Cr From SBI Mutual Fund, Others; Hikes Stake In Absolute Sports To 91%

Gaming giant Nazara Technologies plans to raise another INR 900 Cr from SBI Mutual Fund, CaratLane founder Mithun Sacheti, among others, to boost its growth trajectory.

In an exchange filing, the company said that its board has approved a preferential equity issue to raise INR 900 Cr. The company will raise the funds by issuing up to 94.31 Lakh fully paid equity shares at a price of INR 954.27 per share.

“This capital infusion will fuel strategic acquisitions, fund business expansion, and enhance the company’s ability to seize new growth opportunities,” the company said in a statement.

Nazara will issue up to 23.05 Lakh equity shares to SBI Innovative Opportunities Fund, a scheme of SBI Mutual Fund. Additionally, 15.71 Lakh shares each are set to be allocated to Junomoneta Finsol and Think India Opportunities Master Fund LP. Discovery Global Opportunity Mauritius Ltd will receive 8.38 Lakh shares. Mithun Sacheti and Siddharth Sacheti will be issued 7.5 Lakh shares each.

Commenting on the proposed fundraise, Nazara CEO & Jt MD Nitish Mittersain said, “Nazara has demonstrated its ability to attract top-tier investors who believe in our long-term vision of establishing India’s first globally respected gaming powerhouse. This INR 900 Cr fundraise will be instrumental in accelerating our growth across key segments.”

Meanwhile, Nazara’s board also gave its nod for the company to acquire an additional stake of 19.35% in Absolute Sports Pvt, a subsidiary of the company which operates Sportskeeda.

“Additionally, increasing our stake to 91% in Absolute Sports (Sportskeeda) reinforces our leadership in the sports media landscape. The growth of Absolute Sports, from its early days as a startup to becoming a global media player, underscores our commitment to supporting innovative teams that consistently deliver transformational growth,” Mittersain added.

Earlier this year, Nazara’s board approved preferential allotment of equity shares to raise up to INR 250 Cr from Zerodha cofounders Nikhil and Nithin Kamath. It also raised INR 510 Cr from the Kamath brothers and SBI Mutual Fund last year.

Flush with funds, the company has been on an acquisition spree. Last week, Nazara entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 47.7% stake in Moonshine Technology, the parent company of online poker platform Pokerbaazi, for INR 831.5 Cr through a secondary transaction.

Recently, the gaming major also acquired a 15.86% stake in gaming community platform GetStan Technologies Pte. Ltd (STAN) for INR 18.4 Cr (around $2.2 Mn).

In its annual report, Nazara reiterated that it would continue to focus on acquisitions to shore up its revenue.

Shares of the company ended today’s trading session 1.73% higher at INR 1,086.65 on the BSE.