Game on! Jhunjhunwala all set to take Chhota Bheem, Motu and Patlu to capital market

MUMBAI: Big Bull Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Nazara Technologies has appointed three investment bankers, Nomura, Jefferies and ICICI Securities, ahead of its plans to raise Rs 750-950 crore via an initial public offering (IPO).The proposed public offer is likely to hit the market between January and February 2021 amid growing investor exuberance on technology companies, two people with direct knowledge of the matter told ET.Nazara is a diversified gaming platform. The company is best known for its popular games like Chhota Bheem, Motu and Patlu Series and World Cricket Championship.Nazara shares surged about 65 percent since April in the unlisted market with optimism building up. They now trade at around Rs 770 apiece compared with Rs 500-550 in April, dealers said.The IPO would be the first of its kind by any online gaming platform in India. The company may either issue fresh equity shares or through an offer for sale from existing shareholders.Nazara Technologies did not comment on the matter. Individual bankers could not be contacted immediately.Investment bankers are working on filing the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the capital market regulator the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI).“It is a debt free company. The company has significantly increased investments in the past five years,” said Rajan Shah, founder 3A Financial Services, a Mumbai-based boutique firm.The company’s investment rose to Rs 238.73 crore in 2018-19 from Rs 32.45 crore in 2013-14. Revenues are expected to grow at an average of 30 percent next two years.In March this year, it made a small private placement of shares at Rs 728 apiece for Rs 14 crore.Earlier, in a letter to its existing shareholders, the company expressed its intention to go public. The company has been trying for an initial share sale for the past two years but decided the time is ripe now.It reported a net profit of Rs. 4.38 crore in the financial year ended March 31, 2019 on consolidated level as against Rs. 1.21 crore in the year before, show data from its website.Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and a group of foreign investors held about 12.2 and 23 percent respectively, latest data showed.