Nazara secures $108m to fuel further M&A

• The funds will support strategic acquisitions, business expansion, and growth opportunities

Indian gaming and sports media firm Nazara Technologies has raised ₹900 crores ($108 million) through a preferential equity issue to power the company's M&A spree.

The funds will support strategic acquisitions, business expansion, and growth opportunities. Key investors include SBI Mutual Fund, Junomoneta Finsol, Think Investments, and others.

Nazara has also acquired an additional 19.35% share in Sportskeeda parent company Absolute Sports for ₹145.5 crores ($17.4 million), raising its total stake to 91%.

A long-term vision

"Nazara has demonstrated its ability to attract top-tier investors who believe in our long-term vision of establishing India’s first globally respected gaming powerhouse," said Nazara CEO and joint MD Nitish Mittersain.

"This ₹900 crores fundraise will be instrumental in accelerating our growth across key segments."

In a message on LinkedIn, Mittersain also shared some comments about the challenges of attracting investment in the earlier days of Nazara.

"If there’s one learning from my journey, it’s this: in the startup world, progress can feel slow at first, but then it happens all at once and if I had to choose a single word that defines the success of any startup, it would be being 'relentless'," he said.

The Indian game firm has been on a spending spree over the past year. It recently invested $117 million in PookerBaazi parent company Moonshine, owning 47.7% stake in the company.

Last month it acquired UK interactive fiction and Love Island game developer Fusebox for $27.2 million.

Other deals include the purchase of Kiddopia developer Paper Boat Apps, US games content platform Deltias Gaming, and the acquisition of the remaining shares in marketing agency Freaks 4U.