Nazara Technologies raises INR 100 Cr funding through Hornbill Capital

Nazara Technologies Limited (Nazara), a leading India based diversified gaming and sports media platform, today announced that Nazara has raised an amount of INR 100 Cr from Instant Growth Limited (IGL) which is advised by Hornbill Capital Advisers LLP. IGL is an investment vehicle of the North America based limited partners (LPs) of Hornbill Orchid India Fund.

Hornbill Capital Advisers LLP (Hornbill Capital) is an India based investment advisory firm founded by Manoj Thakur in 2014. Hornbill Capital acts as an advisor to Hornbill Orchid Investment Manager Private Limited which manages Hornbill Orchid India Fund, a Mauritius based hedge fund that invests in India as a Foreign Portfolio Investor.

Commenting on the recent investment made through Hornbill Capital Advisers LLP, Manish Agarwal, CEO, Nazara says, “We welcome Hornbill Capital’s entry into the Indian gaming ecosystem with their investment in Nazara. We are glad that they share our conviction and excitement on the future of the gaming sector in India and the value creation potential which gaming offers to the investors. The leadership team of Hornbill Capital has been part of the growth story of many consumer internet companies and we at Nazara look forward to leveraging their experience of working with some of the smartest tech entrepreneurs across the globe and having an inside view of blitz scaling of their portfolio companies in the last decade.”

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Commenting on the Nazara investment, Manoj Thakur, Founder & Managing Partner, Hornbill Capital Advisers LLP said, “We have been closely following Nazara’s journey over several years, as it evolved into a platform for gaming and gamified early learning. The leadership team of Nitish and Manish have built Nazara into an attractive ecosystem for some of the most promising entrepreneurial talent in the Indian gaming and early learning space. Through prudent capital allocation, we believe that the team at Nazara has demonstrated their ability to build a formidable presence in esports, gamified early learning and mobile gaming – some of the most exciting spaces in India over the next decade.”

Earlier this year, Plutus Wealth Management and its associates acquired shares worth over INR 500 Cr in Nazara from WestBridge Ventures II Investment Holdings, marking a complete exit for WestBridge Ventures II Investment Holdings.

Nazara has invested over INR 300 Cr in the last 5 years in the Indian gaming ecosystem. Having consummated multiple transactions over the past few years, Nazara has placed itself in a leading position in esports, interactive gaming and gamified early learning space. Nazara has acquired a majority stake in Nodwin Gaming Pvt. Ltd (57.05%); Next Wave Multimedia Pvt. Ltd. (52.38%), which operates World Cricket Championship (WCC), the largest mobile-based cricket simulation game, in addition to investment in Absolute Sports Private Limited, which operates Sportskeeda (63.90%) and Paper Boat Apps Private Limited (50.91%) – gamified early learning subscription app.