The initial public offer (IPO) of gaming firm Nazara Technologies will open for public subscription on Wednesday. The public issue which is fixed at Rs 1,100-1,101 a share, will conclude on March 19.
The public issue will see sale of 52,94,392 equity shares by the promoters and existing shareholders. Those selling shares in the IPO include Mitter Infotech LLP, a promoter of the company, IIFL Special Opportunities Fund, Good Game Investment Trust, IndexArb Securities and Azimuth Investments.
The offer includes a reservation aggregating up to Rs 2 crore for purchase by the company's employees. At the upper end of the price band, the IPO is expected to fetch Rs 583 crore.
The company, backed by ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, is popularly known for its games on World Cricket Championship, Chhota Bheem and Motu Patlu series.
Explaining the rationale behind the IPO, the company said that listing of equity shares will enhance its brand name and provide liquidity to the existing shareholders. The listing will also provide a public market for equity shares in India. The equity shares are proposed to be listed on BSE and NSE on March 30.
The unlisted share of Nazara Technologies are commanding a strong premium in the grey market. Investors are expecting a strong listing gain with shares of Nazara Technologies commanding a premium of Rs 800-850 per share.
The company on Tuesday said that it mopped up a little over Rs 261 crore from from anchor investors ahead of its initial public offer. The company's IPO committee has decided to allocate 23,73,395 shares to 43 anchor investors at Rs 1,101 per piece.
Among the anchor investors are Government of Singapore, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Goldman Sachs India Ltd, Noumura Funds Ireland Public Limited Company, Steadview Capital Mauritius Ltd. In addition, SBI Mutual Fund (MF), HDFC MF, ICICI Prudential MF, Axis MF, Sundaram MF, Kotal MF and Aditya Birla Sunlife MF too participated in the anchor book bidding.
In January, WestBridge Ventures II Investment Holdings, a fund managed by WestBridge Capital, exited from Nazara by selling shares worth over Rs 500 crore to Plutus Wealth Management LLP and its associates.
The firm has undertaken investments and acquisitions in various gaming categories, including e-sports, edutainment, infotainment, fantasy sports, multiplayer games like carrom and mobile cricket games, among others to strengthen its position in the gaming and sports media space. Nazara owns IPs, including WCC and CarromClash in mobile games, Kiddopia in gamified early learning, NODWIN and Sportskeeda in esports and esports media, and Halaplay and Qunami in skill-based, fantasy and trivia games.
The company had earlier filed preliminary papers with Sebi in February 2018 and had received approval from the market regulator to float the IPO but the firm did not launch its public issue.
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