Nazara Acquires PokerBaazi Parent Company Moonshine Technology for 982 Cr

Nazara to acquire 47.7% stake in Moonshine Technology for Rs 832 crore through secondary transaction. Photo: Linkedin

2 minutes of reading Last update: Sep 13, 2024 | 1:39 PM IST

In one of the largest merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in the domestic gaming sector, Nazara Technologies announced the acquisition of Moonshine Technology, the parent company of PokerBaazi, for a total consideration of Rs 982 crore.

Nazara will acquire 47.7% stake in Moonshine Technology for Rs 832 crore through a secondary transaction. The company will also inject Rs 150 crore of equity capital into Moonshine through Mandatory Convertible Preference Shares.

PokerBaazi is India’s largest online poker platform, accounting for over 85 percent of Moonshine’s net revenue, while its fantasy sports platform, SportsBaazi, accounts for 12 percent. PokerBaazi had about 340,000 monthly active users as of May 2024.

The company’s success is attributed to its dynamic and innovative management team led by Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Navkiran Singh and Co-Founders Puneet Singh, Varun Ganjoo, Avneet Rana and Anirudh Chaudhry, whose collective efforts are driving the transformation of the Indian poker ecosystem.

Nitish Mittersain, CEO, Nazara Technologies, said, “This investment in Moonshine Technology is a significant step in our journey to strengthen Nazara’s position as the dominant, differentiated gaming platform in India. PokerBaazi has not only become the undisputed leader in online poker gaming in India but has also set new standards in terms of user engagement, innovation and the overall experience.”

“We are thrilled to join forces with Navkiran, Puneet and the entire Moonshine team, whose vision and leadership have been instrumental in shaping the poker landscape in India. Together, we look forward to driving growth in this space and elevating Indian gaming to new heights, both domestically and globally.”

Navkiran Singh, CEO and Founder, Baazi Games, said, “As the Indian gaming sector continues to grow, we strongly believe that partnering with Nazara Technologies is the right step towards developing the gaming ecosystem in the country. This partnership will also contribute to our goal of global expansion in the gaming space.”

First edition: Sep 13, 2024 | 1:39 PM IST