Nazara Technologies Limited (NSE: NAZARA), India's leading gaming and sports media platform, has successfully divested its 94.85% stake in OpenPlay Technologies Private Limited (OpenPlay) which runs popular Rummy platform, Classic Rummy, to Moonshine Technology Private Limited (Moonshine), the parent company of India's biggest Poker platform, PokerBaazi. The transaction, valued at INR 104.33 crore, will be executed through the issuance of Moonshine's Compulsory Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS) to Nazara and other sellers.
With this acquisition, Moonshine strengthens its position in India's Real Money Gaming (RMG) sector, integrating OpenPlay's Rummy platform into its existing Rummy offering. OpenPlay, a leading midsized Rummy operator, has maintained a profitable track record despite recent industry regulatory shifts.
By integrating OpenPlay's operations, Moonshine aims to leverage its technological, marketing, and data-driven expertise-particularly from its flagship PokerBaazi brand-to drive significant growth in India's Rummy market. This synergy is expected to:
- Boost player engagement through cross-platform strategies.
- Optimize user acquisition with shared data-driven insights.
- Enhance cost efficiencies via unified infrastructure and marketing efforts.
Post the GST regulatory changes, OpenPlay successfully optimized costs and strengthened VIP retention, demonstrating resilience in a challenging market. This acquisition ensures a scalable and sustainable RMG business model under Moonshine's leadership.
Commenting on the transaction, Navkiran Singh, Founder & CEO of Moonshine Technology, added: "The acquisition of OpenPlay is in line with Moonshine's vision of building a holistic made-in-India RMG ecosystem. We look forward to leveraging OpenPlay's strong foundation and accelerate the growth by enhancing user experience with our best-in-class technology and product innovations we are poised to accelerate growth and enhance user experience by integrating best-in-class technology and product innovations. We look forward to leveraging OpenPlay's strong foundation and driving synergies that will redefine India's real-money gaming landscape."
Deepak MV, CEO of OpenPlay Technologies, commented: We at OpenPlay are excited to join forces with an industry leader like PokerBaazi/Moonshine and this marks a significant step in creating a more formidable RMG powerhouse. We are confident that Moonshine's proven expertise in RMG will enable us to unlock substantial value in the Rummy segment. We look forward to leveraging the synergy between platforms to drive innovation and exponential growth in the real-money gaming space.
This transaction underscores Moonshine's ambition to solidify its leadership in India's RMG market by offering a strengthened diversified gaming portfolio and a seamless user experience across multiple verticals.
Shares of Nazara Technologies Limited was last trading in BSE at Rs. 935.30 as compared to the previous close of Rs. 926.20. The total number of shares traded during the day was 3143 in over 291 trades.
The stock hit an intraday high of Rs. 938.10 and intraday low of 920.95. The net turnover during the day was Rs. 2927971.00. |
