Nazara to acquire PokerBaazi parent Moonshine Technology for Rs 982 cr

PokerBaazi is India's largest online poker platform, contributing over 85% of Moonshine's net revenue, while its fantasy sports platform, SportsBaazi, contributes 12%

In one of the largest merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in the domestic gaming sector, Nazara Technologies has announced buying a significant stake in Moonshine Technology Pvt Ltd (MTPL), the parent company of PokerBaazi, for Rs 982 crore.

The listed gaming and media technology firm’s stock price hit a 52-week high on the acquisition news at Rs 1,059.45 during intra-day trading.

The shares of the company closed at Rs 1,050.4, up 4.3 per cent.

Nazara will acquire 47.7 per cent in MTPL for Rs 832 crore through a secondary transaction. The company will also inject Rs 150 crore in primary capital via compulsory convertible preference shares.

 

MTPL is the holding company for four subsidiaries: Ross Technologies, Baazi Networks, Baazi Games, and SBN Gaming Network.

Baazi Networks operates PokerBaazi, which is India’s largest online poker platform, driving over 85 per cent of Moonshine’s net revenue, while its fantasy sports platform, SportsBaazi, contributes 12 per cent.

PokerBaazi had 340,000 active monthly users as of May 2024.

Nitish Mittersain, chief executive officer (CEO), Nazara Technologies, said: “This investment represents a significant step in our journey to strengthen Nazara’s position as India’s dominant diversified gaming platform. PokerBaazi has not only emerged as the undisputed leader in online poker gaming in India but has also set new standards in user engagement, innovation, and overall experience.”

Nazara, through acquisition, is strengthening its position in skill-based online gaming.

The company stated in its FY24 Annual Report over the next two years it would invest $100 million in M&A.

This is aimed to strengthen its global presence as well as capitalise on the growing gamer base in India.

A few days back Nazara announced acquiring 15.86 per cent in esports community platform GetStan Technologies for Rs 18.4 crore.

Nazara has three business segments: Gaming, esports, and adtech. Of this 55 per cent of its revenue comes from esports, 36 per cent from gaming, and 9 per cent from adtech.

In FY24 the company announced four acquisitions in gaming. In this, Nazara acquired an additional stake of 48.42 per cent in Paper Boat Apps, the developer and publisher of children’s app Kiddopia, for Rs 300 crore.

The company also acquired United Kingdom-based gaming studio Fusebox Games for Rs 228 crore.

In the esports segment, through its subsidiary NODWIN, the company acquired European esports company Freaks 4U Games for around Rs 271 crore.

Sportskeeda, a subsidiary of Nazara, acquired Deltia Gaming for Rs 7.5 crore.  

Navkiran Singh, CEO and founder, Baazi Games, said: “As the Indian gaming sector continues to grow, we believe partnering with Nazara Technologies is the right step. This partnership will contribute to our aim for global expansion.”

Moonshine Technology is led by founder and CEO Navkiran Singh and co-founders Puneet Singh, Varun Ganjoo, Avneet Rana, and Anirudh Chaudhry, whose combined efforts are driving the transformation of India’s poker ecosystem.

Mittersain in the investor presentation said: “In FY24, our team focused on building a strong pipeline of opportunities and as we move into FY25, we are strategically deploying our cash reserves to acquire businesses that align with our vision and will further strengthen our platform for long-term growth.”