Nazara Technologies Secures Rs.220 Crore from SBI Mutual Fund to Fuel Expansion
The Gaming Company, Nazara Technologies has raised Rs.220 Crore from SBI Mutual Fund as part of its plan to raise Rs.900 Cr from a host of investors. The capital is as part of a share subscription agreement signed with SBI Funds Management Limited for which equity shares amounting to 23.05 lakh will be issued at Rs.954.27 per share, which works out to approximately Rs.219.99 Cr.
The funds will be deployed to implement the ongoing expansion and growth plans of the company. Nazara Games had also announced earlier in September that the board had approved a preferential equity issue aimed at raising Rs.900 Cr through issuance of up to 94.31 lakh fully paid equity shares at the same price per share.
Despite the good news, however, the stock closed at Rs.899.20, down 2.98% on the BSE at the end of the latest trading session.
In fact, that was weeks ago when a similar preferential allotment of equity shares had been cleared by the board of the company to mop up Rs.250 Cr from ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, Plutus Wealth, and Zerodha cofounders Nikhil and Nithin Kamath. This year, Nazara also raised another Rs.510 Cr from Zerodha’s cofounders and SBI Mutual Fund.
With these investments, the firm has gone on an acquisition spree. Within a short time, it managed to acquire a 48% stake in Pokerbaazi’s parent company, Moonshine Technology. It also intends to invest $100 Mn in expansion in the next two years. This marks the aggressive growth strategy of the firm.
Additionally, the company bought a 15.86% stake in the gaming community platform, GetStan Technologies, for Rs.18.4 Cr. The company received a letter of intent to acquire the sports entertainment startup Smash Entertainment which is currently undergoing insolvency proceedings. Nazara also secured the acquisition of UK-based gaming studio Fusebox Games for Rs.228 Cr in August, further expanding its international presence.
