Nazara Technologies Files for IPO

Nazara Technologies Ltd, the Indian gaming company backed by billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, has filed for an IPO.

The company filed IPO documents with India’s market regulator on Friday. Its impending debut on the local exchanges could encourage other Indian startups to tap public markets, after years of explosive growth in mobile and internet usage created giant private firms from Paytm to Walmart Inc.’s Flipkart.

Founded by gamer Nitish Mittersain in 2000, when he was a college undergrad, Nazara is among the firms that have benefited from a global boom in smartphone gaming that began even before the pandemic drove millions online. Mittersain started the company with 30 million rupees borrowed from friends and family, only to get derailed during the dotcom bust. The firm spent its first decade clearing debt, but steadily built market share by acquiring fellow gaming startups.

It is now seeking to be among the first major Indian startups to go public at a time of burgeoning investor interest in the country’s technology sphere. Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google are pouring billions into partnerships with local operator Jio Platforms Inc., while Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos has said that “the 21st century is going to be the Indian century.”