Head Digital Works Pvt Ltd, the operator of online gaming brand A23 and majority owned by Canadian private equity firm Clairvest Group, has agreed to acquire the online poker platform Adda52 from a unit of Delta Corp.
Mumbai-listed Delta said in a stock exchange filing it will sell online gaming unit Deltatech Gaming Ltd, which operates Adda52, to Head Digital in a cash-and-stock deal. The transaction will be completed in two parts. Head Digital will first buy 51% of Deltatech Gaming and then merge it with itself. The transaction is valued at approximately Rs 491 crore.
Delta had bought Adda52 in 2016 for about Rs 182 crore in cash and stock. Clairvest and its co-investors had acquired a majority stake in Head Digital in 2017 for $73.7 million.
Under the latest deal, Delta Corp will get a 2.8% stake in Head Digital by April 6, 2025, when HDW secures a 51% stake in Deltatech Gaming. Following the merger, Delta Corp’s stake in Head Digital will increase to approximately 5.7%.
“We believe that this transaction will help Adda52’s leading position in the online poker market,” said Ashish Kapadia, managing director at Delta Corp.
Adda52 is among the earliest online poker platforms in India. Head Digital, which operates the gaming brand A23, was an early entrant in the country’s online rummy and real-money gaming space. Its portfolio includes online rummy, poker, and cricket-related content. It claims that A23 Rummy, one of its flagship offerings, has a user base of over 75 million, making it one of India’s largest real-money rummy platforms.
“Adda52 has been a leader in online poker in India and has an excellent platform and a strong user base. This transaction will help grow our poker business and help us create a leading diversified card-based gaming platform in India,” said Deepak Gullapalli, founder and chief executive officer of Head Digital.
Head Digital clocked consolidated revenue of Rs 841.4 crore in 2023-24, up from Rs 839.2 crore the year before. Adda52 generated revenue of Rs 89.93 crore in 2023-24, according to the filing.
Indium Capital Advisors was the investment banking advisor. AZB & Partners advised Delta Corp and Spice Route Legal advised Head Digital on this transaction.
The deal comes at a time of consolidation in the real-money gaming (RMG) sector as companies face the impact of the 28% goods and service tax, which applies to online gaming, casinos and horse racing at full face value.
In September last year, Nazara Technologies acquired a 47.7% stake in Moonshine Technology Pvt Ltd, the parent company of PokerBaazi, for Rs 982 crore. Also, in February last year, metaverse and gaming tech company OneVerse acquired online poker startup Spartan Poker.
