Among the much-awaited initial public offerings this month has been Nazara Technologies’ Rs 583-crore IPO. The Nazara Technologies IPO date for the opening of subscription is March 17; the closing date is March 19. The price band for the issue is fixed at Rs 1100-1101.
Nazara Technologies IPO is the first pure-play gaming company in India to be listed. This is the company’s second go at an IPO; it had filed a DRHP (draft red herring prospectus) earlier in 2018 but had halted its plans as it felt the market condition was not favourable. During the pandemic-induced lockdown, there was a surge in mobile gaming and that egged on the firm to go the IPO way. A Nielsen report has shown that Indians spend 218 minutes gaming in comparison with the 151 minutes before the lockdown. Reports also suggest that the first nine months of a pandemic-ridden 2020 saw India take the top spot in mobile game downloads (7.3 billion installs) globally.
Naza’s monthly active users stood at an average of four crore in fiscal 2020 while in the first nine months of 2020 till December 2020, it stood at 5.75 crore.
One of the biggest shareholders of the company, Rakesh Jhunjunwala, has decided to stay put and not sell any shares through this issue. He owns nearly 11.5 per cent stake in the firm as of September 30, according to the DRHP.
Now that you know that the Nazara Technologies IPO date is March 17, you should turn your gaze towards the other aspects of the IPO.
Now that you know all about Nazara Technologies IPO date and other details of the initial offering, it is time to take a deeper dive into the company and its growth.
The company was incorporated in 1999 and is a leading name in the mobile gaming world. It is also a sports media platform and is known for sports simulation and eSports, its acquisition Sportskeeda being a key one. It holds a market-first position in the country. It is known for its games such as Chhota Bheema, Motu Patlu and World Cricket Championship (WCC). It owns a majority stake in the WCC and CarromClash in mobile games. It also has stakes in Kiddopia in gamified early learning.
In January 2021, Nazara’s early investor, WestBridge Avenues, had exited the company and received 40 times it had invested. Nazara has acquired Halaplay, a fantasy gaming platform for Rs 40 crore and Sports Unity, creator of a multiplayer quiz called Qunami at Rs 7.5 crore. Apart from Sportskeeda that it acquired for Rs 44 crore, its other big acquisition was Paper Boat Apps, a Mumbai-based indie studio for Rs 83.5 crore.
Apart from India, it has a presence in global markets like North American and Africa. Nazara owns 55 per cent interest in Nodwin Gaming, which recently raised Rs 164 crore from PUBG game owner Krafton. The valuation of Nodwin is in the Rs 1100 crore range, following the investment.
Nazara Technologies has over Rs 400 crore in cash. Its investment in Indian gaming over the past five years is to the tune of Rs 300 crore. The company’s vertical, Gamified learning, fetches 39 per cent of its revenues while e-sports brings in 32 per cent.
If you want to apply for Nazara Technologies IPO, among others coming up soon, you could do so with an Angel One Demat account. You can open an account in minutes on the Angel One website.
We're Live on WhatsApp! Join our channel for market insights & updates
Enjoy ₹0 Account Opening Charges
Join our 2 Cr+ happy customers