Live events intellectual property (IP) firm Event Capital has acquired an 80% stake in Indian Games Expo (IGX), which holds exhibitions around the country focussed on the gaming industry.
The company, owned by Laqshya Media Group, said in a statement that the acquisition has helped the firm enter the gaming segment.
Deepak Choudhary, founder and director at Event Capital, said the company’s entry into the space was logical because of its expertise in creating live event experiences, and IGX having managed to create a strong community around its expos.
“We plan on creating consumer experiences that can nurture and further grow this industry by leaps and bounds and take this IP to the next level,” Choudhary said.
Separately, Sameer Desai, founder at IGX, said Event Capital was a good fit for the company because of its experience with consumer events. “Event Capital is the ideal partner to help take IGX to the next level,” Desai said.
IGX, which is operated by IGX Events LLP, was founded in 2015. The Expo is India’s largest and longest-running video games-focussed event, and claims sponsors such as Sony’s PlayStation and data storage solutions provider Western Digital, according to its website.
The annual conference – the fifth edition of which will be held in Mumbai in December – will focus on conferences, lectures and showcases on various topics involving the video games industry. It will also host IGX Battle Arena, a competitive e-sports tournament focussing on video game IPs across several formats.
Event Capital, which was founded in 2013, operates IPs such as India Bridal Fashion Week, Bollywood Music Project and the India Kids Fashion Week.
It is a part of the larger Laqshya Media Pvt. Ltd, which was founded in 1997 and owns brands such as Outdoor Media Integrated, Laqshya Assets, Tempus and Digit Labs. In 2017, VCCircle reported that the group was exploring an initial public offering to raise fresh capital and provide an exit opportunity to its private equity investors such as Ascent Capital and Warburg Pincus.