PokerBaazi parent Moonshine’s revenue grows over 50% ahead of Nazara’s ₹982 crore investment

Moonshine Technology, in which Nazara Technologies is set to invest ₹982 crore in the next two months for its poker gaming business, reported a strong financial growth with a combined revenue of ₹414.9 crore for fiscal year 2024 (FY24) across its businesses.

This figure represents a substantial 55% increase from FY23’s ₹268 crore, according to Nazara's filings with the BSE, and a leap from FY22’s ₹102.3 crore.

Moonshine Technology Pvt. Ltd (MTPL) is the parent of several key subsidiaries and operates PokerBaazi and SportsBaazi, a brand offering sports, casual and fantasy gaming, including cricket.

The subsidiaries under which these brands are housed are Ross Technologies Pvt. Ltd, Baazi Networks Pvt. Ltd, Baazi Games Pvt. Ltd and SBN Gaming Network Pvt. Ltd. Both its revenue and Ebitda data for FY24 are provisional and unaudited, the company said. Ebitda stood at ₹41.2 crore, reflecting a 52.5% rise over FY23's ₹27 crore.

Ebitda stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and is a measure of profitability.

Nazara Technologies, a publicly traded gaming and sports media company, will acquire a significant majority of 47.7% in MTPL for ₹832 crore. It will do this by buying shares that are already owned by others in Moonshine and will also invest another ₹150 crore into the company through special shares or compulsory convertible preference shares. 

The payment will be made partly in cash— ₹592.26 crore—and the balance of ₹239.25 crore through a share swap issuance of fully paid-up equity shares of the company on a preferential basis. The acquisition makes sense, considering that PokerBaazi generated approximately 87% of the group’s revenue, while SportsBaazi contributed 12% in FY24. PokerBaazi said it had around 340,000 monthly active users till May.

Nazara Technologies chief executive officer (CEO) Nitish Mittersain said in a statement that the investment is a strategic move to solidify its own position in the gaming sector. He said PokerBaazi will further grow both within India and internationally.

Nazara’s current portfolio includes esports companies, interactive gaming businesses and sports media. It owns Nodwin Gaming, and Sportskeeda and Pro Football Network in the sports media space.

Navkiran Singh, CEO and founder of Baazi Games, said the government’s recognition of the gaming sector was a crucial component in the country’s digital economy. “Our combined efforts will foster innovation, create new jobs, and further India’s place in the global digital economy.”

India’s gaming industry is expected to grow by 20% until the end of 2024-25, reaching a value of ₹23,100 crore, according to the E-Gaming Federation. Over the last five years, the online gaming sector has raised $2.8 billion from domestic and global investors.

Mint reached out to representatives of Moonshine, but they declined to comment on any financial details.