The most-awaited Nazara Technologies IPO

Were you also disheartened when PUBG was banned in India? Because it felt like all hell broke loose to many. Why are we talking about PUBG anyway? Well, Nazara Technologies, a company closely related to the game is going public tomorrow. Nazara Technologies IPO is one of the most-awaited IPOs of 2021 for two main reasons.

One, it is backed by Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, an ace stock market investor. And two, Nazara Technologies is one of India’s leading online gaming companies, making the IPO the 1st pure play gaming company to go public in India. More on the IPO in the article.

About Nazara Technologies
Established in 2000 by Nitish Mittersain, Nazara Technologies is a leading diversified gaming and sports media platform in India. Pleasantly, Nazara’s presence is not just limited to domestic borders but across other emerging and developed economies including North America and Africa. Nazara is known for its Chhota Bheem, Motu Patlu, and World Cricket Championship game series.

Highlights of Nazara Tech
The hype for Nazara Technologies is not without reason. Here are some highlights that justify it:

• Nazara was among the first entrants in the domestic markets in eSports and cricket, entering the arenas via Nodwin and Nextwave, respectively
• It owns a majority stake in Nodwin Gaming, which is a leader in eSports

Business verticals of Nazara Technologies

• eSports
• Interactive gaming
• Gamified early learning
• Legacy telco businesses
• Premium offerings account
• Real money gaming accounts

Popular Intellectual Properties owned by Nazara Tech
Nazara has assets across grassroots, regional, national, and international eSports. Also, it is the only Indian company to have rights over well-known Intellectual Properties (IP) such as:

• Kiddopia in gamified early learning
• CarromClash and WCC in mobile games
• Qunami in skill-based, fantasy and trivia games
• Halaplay Technologies Private Limited (“Halaplay”)
• Nodwin and Sportskeeda in eSports and eSports media

Subsidiaries of Nazara Technologies

• Paper Boat apps Private Limited (holding 50.91%)
• Nodwin Gaming Private Limited (holding 57.05%)
• Absolute Sports Private Limited (holding 63.90%)
• Next Wave Multimedia Pvt Ltd (holding 52.38%)
• Halaplay Technologies Private Limited (holding 69.09%)
• Sports Unity Private Limited (holding 62.53%)

Investees of Nazara Tech

• Hashcube (holding 12.38%)
• Mastermind Sports Limited (holding 26%)
• Moong Labs Technologies Limited (holding 24.41%)

Context for Nazara Tech IPO
As mentioned, Nazara Technology had planned an IPO way back in 2018. However, despite filing a draft red herring prospectus with SEBI and getting the necessary approvals from the market watchdog, Nazara stepped back citing market conditions. Nonetheless, the company is glad and opines this is a better time to make a market debut.

Since 2018, the gaming market has evolved to Nazara’s benefit. The quality and speed of the internet and the infrastructure of digital payments got better with time. This enabled multiplayer gaming in India and gave more business to companies such as Nazara. India also saw the emergence of a paying user market. Meaning, users began to pay to play games, all to the credit of gaming companies.

Besides, the coronavirus pandemic, which plagued many businesses, proved to be a boon to gaming companies including Nazara. Thanks to the nation-wide lockdown that left people with very little means of entertainment, citizens turned to online games for their needs. As a result, the mobile gaming sector grew stronger. Naturally, the enormous demand for mobile gaming opened up new doors of opportunity for Nazara Technologies.

About Nazara Technologies IPO

• The Rs 582.91 cr-worth Nazara Technologies IPO will open on 17th Mar 2021 and close on 19th Mar
• While the face value of each share is Rs 4, the IPO’s price band is fixed at Rs 1,100 to Rs 1,101 apiece share
• The issue consists of an offer for sale (OFS) of 52.9 lakh shares
• The bid lot is of a minimum of 13 shares
• Shares are to be listed on both BSE and NSE

Reservation of Nazara Technologies IPO

• 75% of the IPO is reserved for Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIB)
• 15% is reserved for Non-Institutional Investors
• 10% of the IPO is reserved for retail investors
• Shares of up to Rs 2 cr are reserved for eligible employees, who will get a discount of up to 10% of the offer price

Book running lead managers and registrar of the IPO
While IIFL Securities, ICICI Securities, Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities, and Jefferies India are the Book Running Lead Managers to the IPO, Link Intime India is the registrar.

Continue to read Nazara Technologies’ financials, MAU details, recent developments, prospects, and risks here.