Known to be India’s only listed diversified gaming and sports media company- Nazara Technologies has announced five new investments totalling Rs 196 Crore in Funky Monkeys, Learntube.ai and its existing subsidiaries in a bid to solidify its position in the gaming and entertainment ecosystems.
As part of its strategic investments, Nazara Technologies has also expanded into physical entertainment with the acquisition of a 60% stake for Rs 43.7 crores in Funky Monkeys Play Centers which is a leader in indoor soft play centers for children and currently operates in 11 centers across India, offering interactive play experiences for children.
Additionally, the listed company will also be investing Rs 4.2 crores for a 4.7% stake in Learntube.ai, an AI-powered platform revolutionizing education with 1:1 interactive and gamified learning.
Catering to over 20 lakh learners, Learntube.ai is one of the world’s largest personalised learning platforms that offers affordable, interactive gamified learning experiences for professional skilling.
Not only this, the listed gaming and e-sports company has also increased its shareholding of existing companies by investing Rs 148 crores in Sportskeeda, Nodwin Gaming, and Datawrkz to increase its ownership in them and support their growth.
Here is a subsidiary wise breakup of the investments:
- Nodwin Gaming: Nazara will invest Rs 64 crores through subscription of Optionally Convertible Preference Shares to bolster Nodwin’s growth. The funds will support Nodwins expansion, enhance its intellectual properties (IPs), and strengthen its footprint in emerging markets.
- Absolute Sports (Sportskeeda): Nazara will invest Rs 69 crores to purchase shares arising from exercise of ESOPs from the Sportskeeda management to increase its stake to 100% in the company making it a wholly owned subsidiary.
- Datawrkz: Nazara granted in-principle approval for an investment of Rs 15 crores in Datawrkz through the subscription of Compulsorily Convertible Cumulative Preference Shares to support ongoing growth of Datawrkz
Commenting on these investments, Nitish Mittersain, CEO, Nazara Technologies, said, “Nazara is committed to building the largest diversified gaming and entertainment platform out of India and many of our initiatives announced today are geared towards propelling profitable growth in these strategic areas of our interest.”
Additionally, commenting on Nazara Technologies’ Rs 43.7 crore investment in their company, the co-founders of Funky Monkeys- Binita Putcha and Sanjay Ghadiali said, “We are excited to join hands with Nazara, whose vision for digital and hybrid entertainment aligns closely with ours. With Nazara’s expertise and resources, we are confident we can scale Funky Monkeys and bring even more joy to children and families across India. We also see synergies with digital IP’s owned by Nazara such as Kiddopia and will work to maximise these opportunities”
To this, Shronit Ladhani, Co-founder, LearnTube.ai, added, “LearnTube’s collaboration with Nazara is a bold step forward in reshaping professional learning and interactive media. We are excited to combine forces to lead innovation on a global scale.”
