Nazara Technologies Gains After U.S.-Based WildWorks Acquisition
Nazara's acquisition-led growth has seen the company absorb names across gaming, e-sports, adtech and gamified early learning.
Shares of Nazara Technologies Ltd. gained after it acquired 100% of the U.S.-based children's interactive entertainment company, WildWorks Inc., for Rs 83 crore.
"With its strong brand presence and talented Utah-based development team, WildWorks enables us to solidify our leadership position in the gamified learning space for kids,” said Nitish Mittersain, founder and managing director of Nazara.
The Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed company said two of WildWorks’ original founders, Clark Stacey and Jeff Amis, will remain with the company to lead its next phase of growth as part of the "Friends of Nazara" network.
In 2021, the Utah-based company earned $13.8 million (Rs 110 crore) in revenue and $1.6 million (Rs 12.71 crore) in Ebitda. In the first half of the current calendar year, the company has clocked in $5.8 million (Rs 46.23 crore) of revenues and an Ebitda of $3.1 million (Rs 24.7 crore)
WildWorks is focused on the children’s market for ages 8-12. One of WildWorks' most popular games is Animal Jam.
Separately, Nazara Technologies also said it will hold its annual general meeting on Sept. 29. It also informed the exchanges that it is meeting with investment firms Aberdeen ACM, CVC Capital Partner Pvt., Asia Partners, GIC, Indea Capital Partners Pte. and 16th Street Capital in Singapore on Aug. 30-31.
Nazara's acquisition-led growth has seen the company absorb names across the interactive gaming, e-sports, adtech, and gamified early learning ecosystems, including World Cricket Championship, CarromClash, Nodwin, Kiddopia, PublishMe, Sportskeeda and Datawrkz, among others.
Shares of the company gained as much as 7.1%, the most since Aug. 2, before closing 4.6% higher on Tuesday. Of the 11 analysts tracking the company, eight maintain a ‘buy’, two suggest a ‘hold’ and one recommends 'sell’, according to Bloomberg data. The 12-month consensus price target implies an upside of 21.4%.