Nazara Technologies raises Rs 100 cr funding

Gaming firm Nazara Technologies Ltd on Tuesday said it has raised Rs 100 crore in funding from Instant Growth Ltd (IGL).  IGL is an investment vehicle of the North America based LPs of Hornbill Orchid India Fund. IGL is advised by Hornbill Capital Advisers LLP, an India-based investment advisory firm founded by Manoj Thakur in 2014. Nazara will invest the proceeds in forging alliances and acquisitions to further bolster its position in the gaming ecosystem as well as strengthening its gamified learning offerings, Nazara Chief Executive Officer Manish Agarwal told PTI. Nazara has invested over Rs 300 crore in the last five years in the Indian gaming ecosystem.

“We welcome Hornbill Capital’s entry into the Indian gaming ecosystem with their investment in Nazara. We are glad that they share our conviction and excitement on the future of the gaming sector in India and the value creation potential which gaming offers to the investors,” Agarwal said. He added that Nazara looks forward to leveraging their experience of working with tech entrepreneurs across the globe and experience in scaling portfolio companies. “We have been closely following Nazara’s journey over several years, as it evolved into a platform for gaming and gamified early learning,” Hornbill Capital founder and Managing Partner Manoj Thakur said. He added that Nazara has demonstrated its ability to build a formidable presence in esports, gamified early learning and mobile gaming some of the most exciting spaces in India over the next decade. Hornbill Capital Advisers LLP advises the limited partners (LPs) of Hornbill Orchid India Fund in identifying attractive investment opportunities in private consumer internet companies. Hornbill Capital Advisers LLP has acted as an anchor investor to some of the marquee technology IPOs such as IndiaMart and Affle.

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Hornbill Capital has advised the LPs in making investments in private companies such as National Stock Exchange, WedMeGood and Tripoto. Last month, Plutus Wealth Management and its associates had acquired Nazara shares worth over Rs 500 crore from WestBridge Ventures II Investment Holdings, marking a complete exit for WestBridge Ventures II Investment Holdings. Nazara holds majority stake in Nodwin Gaming (57.05 per cent); Next Wave Multimedia (52.38 per cent) that operates World Cricket Championship (WCC), the largest mobile-based cricket simulation game; Absolute Sports that operates Sportskeeda (63.9 per cent); and Paper Boat Apps (50.91 per cent) – a gamified early learning subscription app. Last month, Nazara Technologies had filed preliminary papers with capital markets regulator Sebi to float an initial public offering. The public issue by the company, backed by ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, will see a sale of 49,65,476 equity shares by the promoters and existing shareholders, according to draft red herring prospectus (DRHP). Those selling shares in the IPO include Mitter Infotech LLP – a promoter of the company, IIFL Special Opportunities Fund, Good Game Investment Trust, IndexArb Securities and Azimuth Investments. Nazara Technologies was founded in 1999 by Nitish Mittersain, who is the Joint Managing Director of the firm.