Shares of Nazara Technologies Ltd were trading in the green and 2% higher on 31 January after the company’s esports subsidiary, Nodwin Gaming, announced acquiring StarLadder for a total consideration of Rs 46.75 crore ($5.5 million).
The deal is expected to expand Nodwin Gaming’s AAA IP and event production portfolio internationally. AAA refers to video games that are both high-budget and high-quality.
As per the deal, Nodwin’s Singapore business would pay StarLadder $2 million (Rs 17 crore) in cash, while the rest $3.5 million would be obtained through the exchange of equity shares in Nodwin Singapore. When the earn-out targets are reached, the company plans to give StarLadder more money.
The company will continue to be run by its founder, Roman Romanstov, who also owns equity in Nodwin Gaming. StarLadder will not change.
Nodwin Gaming co-founder Akshat Rathee in a statement, said, “StarLadder and Roman has been and remains the superstars behind the Creme de la Creme events that esports fans have loved to see. Roman is considered one of the pioneers of esports event production with his deep insight in stage design, creative broadcast solutions and entrepreneurial energy.”
Founded by Romanstov in 2018, the StarLadder crew has over 20 years of experience organizing esports events. 18 seasons of StarSeries CS 1, 6, and CSGO, Valve CSGO Major, Valve Dota2 Major, and Minors are included in this, along with 17 seasons of StarSeries in DOTA2.
The company has collaborated with big game developers like Valve, Tencent, Krafton, Blizzard, Riot Games, Supercell, Com2us, Moonton, and Smilegate, in addition to planning a lot of white-label events.
Established in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Singh Virk, Nodwin Gaming has recently made a series of investments and acquisitions to increase the range of products it offers in both the Indian and international markets.
In November 2024, the company paid Rs 24 crore to acquire Trinity Gaming, a gaming agency and creation service provider. Additionally, it paid Rs 7.6 crore in December 2024 to acquire AFK Gaming, a gaming and esports startup.
In order to broaden its support services for PC gaming and game development, Nodwin additionally purchased Freaks 4U Gaming, a German esports and gaming marketing company, in June 2024.
In January 2024, the company spent Rs 55 crore to acquire Comic Con India, which hosts pop culture festivals in India, in order to broaden its events portfolio. In order to expand its presence in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, it also acquired Ninja Global FZCO in February 2024.
Additional investments and acquisitions include the acquisition of Planet Superheroes for Rs 4.9 crore in January 2022; the purchase of OML Entertainment’s gaming and related intellectual property businesses, including the well-known NH7 Weekender music festival, for Rs 73 crore in September 2021; and the purchase of a 51% stake in Singapore-based live events company Branded in April 2023 for an all-cash deal of up to $1.3 million.
Nodwin Gaming received an investment of Rs 64 crore from Nazara Technologies in December 2024. Nazara, Krafton, and JetSynthesys were among the earlier investors who contributed $28 million to the company in May 2023, along with newcomers Sony Group Corporation and Innopark. The business was worth $410 million in November 2024.
At 12:29 pm, the shares of Nazara Technologies were trading 0.55% higher at Rs 945 on NSE.
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