Listed diversified gaming and sports media company Nazara Technologies Ltd Friday said it has acquired a 47.7% stake in Moonshine Technology Pvt. Ltd for Rs 832 crore through a secondary transaction.
Additionally, Nazara will inject Rs 150 crore in primary capital into Moonshine via compulsory convertible preference shares.
“As the Indian gaming sector continues to grow, we firmly believe that partnering with Nazara Technologies is the right step towards advancing the nation’s gaming ecosystem. This partnership will also contribute to our aim for global expansion in the gaming space,” said Navkiran Singh, chief executive officer and founder, Baazi Games (Moonshine).
Moonshine operates PokerBaazi, which is a leading online poker platform in India. It brings more than 85% of Moonshine’s net revenue. PokerBaazi had around 3.4 lakh monthly active users as of May 2024. It also operates a fantasy sports platform, SportsBaazi, which contributes 12% of the top line.
The company is led by founder and chief executive officer Navkiran and co-founders Puneet Singh, Varun Ganjoo, Avneet Rana, and Anirudh Chaudhry.
“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, chief executive officer of Nazara Technologies.
In the financial year ended March 2024, Moonshine’s provisional revenue stood at Rs 414.9 crore, up from Rs 268 crore in the fiscal before. Its EBITDA also rose to Rs 41.2 crore from Rs 27 crore. Hence, the company was valued at around 4.2X of its revenue and around 42X of its EBITDA in FY24.
To be sure, in a deal concluded early this week, Nazara valued the target firm STAN at more than 15x its EBITA and 7.7x its revenue last year.
Nazara had posted a revenue of Rs 1,138 crore in FY24, up from Rs 1,091 crore in FY23. The company is currently valued at around Rs 8,000 crore, translating to a revenue multiple of 7X.
Meanwhile, Nazara, which is India’s only listed gaming and esports company, owns a majority stake in several gaming and esports brands with a presence in India, the US, and other global markets.
In esports, Nazara owns the esports platform NODWIN Gaming while it controls Sportskeeda/Pro Football Network in the sports media space. Its offerings in the interactive gaming segment include gamified early learning ecosystems like Kiddopia and Animal Jam, a leading IP-based gaming studio ‘Fusebox’, a cricket simulation franchise, World Cricket Championship (WCC), and a wide portfolio of casual games.
Additionally, Nazara controls Datawrkz, a digital ad tech company supporting its portfolio companies and external clients with demand-side user acquisition and supply-side ad monetization services.