Nazara is in no mood to slow down, particularly on acquisitions and inorganic growth.

The listed gaming giant has been making headlines for its aggressive fundraising and acquisitions after it went public in 2021, and CEO and joint managing director Nitish Mittersain says that’s not about to stop.

With the latest QIP raised last year, the company is looking to acquire gaming studios and real-money gaming (RMG) platforms both within and outside India.

Nazara has managed to retain investor confidence despite a rocky performance in Q2. And this confidence has paid off after the company’s net profits zoomed over 46% to INR 29.5 Cr from INR 20.1 Cr in the year-ago period. Sequentially, the company’s profit rose 22% from INR 24.18 Cr in Q2 FY24.

With a market capitalisation of close to INR 8K Cr, Nazara recently secured the board’s nod to raise INR 495 Cr from Axana Estates, which is backed by Plutus Wealth Management founder Arpit Khandelwal and CaratLane cofounder Mithun Sacheti, to drive its expansion.

Nazara’s major strategic acquisitions in the past year include London-based Fusebox Games for INR 234.55 Cr, stakes in Pokerbaazi, Paperboat, STAN, Ninja Global FZCO, Freaks 4U and Circle of Games.

In a conversation with Inc42, Nazara chief executive Mittersain says the results of the acquisitions will become evident in the next few quarters, and the company’s efforts will be reflected in the upcoming financial reports.

An analyst at a brokerage firm told Inc42 that Nazara’s acquisitions will drive revenue growth and widen the operating margins later in the year. Its success will, however, hinge on seamless integration, market competition and regulatory developments in the gaming sector, particularly because the company has invested in Moonshine Technology, the parent of the online poker platform Pokerbaazi.

Organic growth also remains a core focus for the company, while it plans to grow inorganically through acquisitions, Mittersain added.

The blueprint for organic growth focusses on four key areas: expanding the publishing business by acquiring more IPs, investing in game development for titles like World Cricket Championship and Kiddopia, scaling esports arm NODWIN Gaming with larger global tournaments, and enhancing ad-tech and monetisation through adtech division Datawrkz to improve user acquisition and revenue.

In this interview, part of the all-new Griffin Dialogues series, Mittersain shares his experience navigating the company after its IPO. He said that it’s an opportune time for many startups in India to go public as the market has started seeing value in the future of digital technology.

As the founder of the only listed gaming company, Nazara’s Mittersain brings valuable experience in handling the challenges both before and after the IPO, from fundraising to maintaining company values and assessing company worth. He shares his insights to guide upcoming companies on how to successfully navigate the IPO process while staying true to their principles and long-term vision.

Edited excerpts

How did the recent fundraising and stake change impact Nazara’s overall operations? How does the company plan to use the funding?

Nitish Mittersain:........

© Inc42