Nazara to invest Rs 982 Cr in PokerBaazi parent Moonshine Technology
The move is expected to strengthen Nazara's position in India’s gaming sector.
Gaming company has made an investment of Rs 832 crore for a 47.7% stake in Moonshine Technology, the parent company of PokerBaazi, through a secondary transaction. Nazara will also inject Rs 150 crore in primary capital into Moonshine via compulsory convertible preference shares, said a release shared by the company.
The move is expected to strengthen Nazara's position in India’s gaming sector.
Led by Navkiran Singh, Puneet Singh, Varun Ganjoo, Avneet Rana, and Anirudh Chaudhry, PokerBaazi, an online poker platform, is driving over 85% of Moonshine’s net revenue, while its fantasy sports platform, SportsBaazi, contributes 12%.
“This investment in Moonshine Technology 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," said Nitish Mittersain, CEO of Nazara Technologies.
"We’re excited to join forces with Navkiran, Puneet, and the entire Moonshine team, whose vision and leadership have been instrumental in shaping the poker landscape in India. Together, we look forward to driving growth in this space and taking Indian gaming to new heights, both domestically and globally,” he added.
Earlier in July, the gaming company had acquired 48.42% stake in Paper Boat Apps for Rs 300 crore.
Nazara added that it is considering merging Paper Boat Apps into the company, which will allow it to benefit from healthy cash flows that can be reinvested for growth.
It had previously held a 50.91% stake in the game-based educational delivery platform which it acquired in 2019.
Edited by Megha Reddy