MUMBAI: Ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala has acquired a minority stake in WestBridge Capital-backed mobile gaming company Nazara Technologies for approximately $27.99 million (Rs 1.8 billion).
Jhunjhunwala’s investment follows the $51.1 million (Rs 3.3 billion) funding round in the Mumbai-based startup led by IIFL Special Opportunities Fund at the beginning of the month.
Nitish Mittersain, managing director and founder, Nazara Technologies, stated, “We are delighted to have Rakesh Jhunjhunwala as an investor in Nazara and it is a great validation of value augmentation delivered by Nazara for its existing shareholders.”
Nazara Technologies is a mobile gaming company engaged in the acquisition of, value addition to and distribution of mobile games across emerging markets. It runs mobile gaming subscription services to mass mobile Internet users comprising largely of first time mobile gamers across Africa, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Indian subcontinent.
Commenting on his investment, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala noted, “I am always on the lookout for promising companies which are leaders in high growth verticals. Nazara is a leading company in the mobile games business. Nazara has a consistent track record of delivering profits, cash flows, along with efficient use of capital and high ROE. I see a growth potential in the company.”
According to a report in Economic Times, Nazara is set to launch its IPO sometime next year. Adding Jhunjhunwala’s investment, the company has accumulated close to Rs 5 billion in pre-IPO placements done through a secondary transaction.
Jhunjhunwala told the business daily that Nazara is the right fit to be a market leader in the mobile gaming arena. He said that the company has an agile management and positive cash flows which were key pointers to make his investment in the company.
In the same space, Jhunjhunwala also has investments in Hungama and Airpay and Exfinity Venture Partners.
Nazara has licensed mobile gaming rights to popular IPs like Virat Kohli, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Hrithik Roshan, Chhota Bheem, Motu Patlu, Mighty Raju, Tinkle Characters and Chacha Choudhary.
As of September 2017, Nazara crossed over 34 million downloads with over 10 million monthly active users across its network of games on Google Play Store, claims the company.
Nazara has users in 61 countries and its target markets are India, South East Asia, and Africa.
