Nazara picks up Kae Capital stake in fantasy sports startup HalaPlay

Gaming and sports media company Nazara Technologies has acquired Kae Capital’s stocks worth Rs 14.6 crore ($1.92 million) in Bengaluru-based fantasy sports startup HalaPlay Technologies to become the majority stakeholder.

The Mumbai-based company had earlier invested in HalaPlay in two tranches -- first with Kae Capital in November 2017 and then in March 2019 with Delta.

The firm was set up in 2017 by four BITS Pilani graduates Swapnil Saurav, Prateek Anand, Ananya Singhal and Aman Kesari. It is primarily a mobile-based platform, where players can create teams, enter competitions and win cash prizes.

It has hosted cricket, football and kabaddi leagues worldwide, and looks to venture into other sports too, the statement said.

Nazara Technologies was founded in 1999 by Nitish Mittersain and has operations in 64 countries, including Singapore, Dubai, Mauritius and Africa. Its portfolio includes companies in the free-to-play mobile games, real money skill gaming, esports and gaming subscription services segments.

In September this year, Nazara acquired a majority stake in Delhi-based video game developer Sports Unity. In October 2019, it invested $11.7 million in Paper Boat Apps, the holding company of preschool edutainment app Kiddopia, in exchange for a majority stake in the company.