Plutus Wealth & Associates purchase Nazara shares worth INR 500 Cr from WestBridge
January 5, 2021 India: Nazara Technologies Limited (Nazara), an India based gaming, sports media and gamified early learning company today announced that Plutus Wealth Management LLP & its associates have acquired shares worth over INR 500 Cr in Nazara from WestBridge Ventures II Investment Holdings, a fund managed by WestBridge Capital in a secondary transaction between the parties. This transaction marks the complete exit from Nazara by WestBridge Ventures, which had been an early investor in Nazara since 2005. It is estimated that WestBridge Ventures invested a cumulative amount of INR 22.6 Cr in Nazara and obtained sales consideration of approximately INR 1000 Cr from its investment.
Plutus Wealth Managing Partner Arpit Khandelwal says, “We believe gaming will be a prominent form of entertainment and will do well in the next decade. We believe that Nazara is well-placed to leverage on the vast available opportunity. We are excited to begin our long-term journey with their goal and vision.”
WestBridge Capital Co-founder Sandeep Singhal said, “WestBridge Capital backed Nitish at a very early stage back in 2005. Since then the company has created great shareholder value and created a market leader. We wish Nitish, Manish and entire Nazara group all the very best in their future endeavors.”
Says Nazara Technologies Founder and MD Nitish Mittersain, “We are excited to onboard Plutus as a long term investor in Nazara. Creating value for all our stakeholders including our investors has always been very important for us and I am glad that we have been able to deliver a great return to WestBridge who backed us early on in 2005”
Nazara has marquee public market investors like IIFL Special Opportunities Fund and Mr. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala as its shareholders who had invested INR 327 Cr in November 2017 and INR 182 Cr in December 2017, respectively.
Nazara has been the most aggressive investor in the Indian gaming ecosystem and has invested over INR 300 Cr in the last 5 years.
Nazara has stakes in a variety of gaming sub-categories. The company has achieved this by building a network in the interactive gaming and sports space through its investments and acquisitions in various gaming categories including esports, edutainment, infotainment, fantasy sports, multiplayer games like carrom and mobile cricket games among others.
