Nazara Tech Acquiring Right Businesses At Right Value: CEO On Acquisition Spree

Leading online gaming company Nazara Technologies Ltd. is on track to achieve its target of Rs 300 crore in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation by FY27 on the back of recent acquisitions. 

The target looks ‘realistic’, according to Nitish Mittersain, joint managing director and chief executive officer of Nazara Technologies.

Nazara Technologies, which has been on an acquisition spree over the last six months, has set an Ebitda target of Rs 300 crore to be achieved by FY27, up from an Ebitda of Rs 129 crore in FY24. 

This will be possible with the company’s organic business picking up growth pace, Mittersain told NDTV Profit.

“We see a lot of prospects in some of our businesses, especially our e-sports and gaming business. There are a lot of opportunities in our organic growth. We have great momentum when it comes to our inorganic growth, and it’s also a great opportunity because globally today we are able to acquire the right businesses at the right value,” he said.

The online gaming business is dynamic and a lot of changes, including those in regulations and consumer behaviour, can happen over time, the Nazara Tech CEO explained.

 “There can be many reasons that come in the way (of achieving the guidance) as well. But our positive intent and effort is to achieve the guidance and beat it,” he added.

Nazara Technologies on September 13 announced acquiring 47.7% stake in Moonshine Technology, which owns India’s leading online poker gaming platform ‘PokerBaazi’, for Rs 982 crore. 

In the last six months, the company has spent around Rs 1,800 crore in mergers and acquisitions to expand market footprint and strengthen technological capabilities. The company had last year raised sizable funds and its whole objective was to deploy this capital for well-thought-out mergers and acquisitions.

“Last year, the team worked on a very strong deal pipeline. We focused on opportunities that fit our framework. We have been very patient about it. What we are seeing now is the outcome of all the work we have done last year,” Mittersain said.

 While the government imposed severe GST regulations on online gaming companies, including a 28% GST on the deposits from users, the Nazara Technologies CEO believes that there was some clarity in the sector now.

“From a Nazara perspective as a responsible listed company, investing into businesses where there is a clear picture of how it is going to pan out going forward was important for us. We believe there is a lot of scale possible with this business, and we hope to support it with our 48% stake going forward,” Mittersain said.

Nazara Technologies has also scheduled its Board meeting on September 18. Talking about it, Mittersain said that more information on it will be out soon. However, the Board may consider fundraising proposals.

“We made a large commitment on the PokerBaazi deal that we just announced. We thought it was appropriate to raise some additional capital,” he said.