Gaming startup Halaplay bags Rs 40 Cr Series A round from Nazara and Delta Corp

Daily fantasy sports (DFS) startup Halaplay has picked up Rs 40 crore series A round led by  Nazara Technologies and casino gaming company Delta Corp. In November 2017, the Bengaluru-based platform had raised seed capital from Nazara and Kae Capital.

Halaplay will deploy the Series A funds towards marketing, product development, and team expansion.

According to the regulatory filing, India’s only listed gaming and hospitality company-Delta Corp - has invested around Rs 15.50 crore in Halaplay for a 15.52 per cent stake.

As a part of the transaction, Delta through its wholly owned subsidiary Gaussian Networks (which also operated Adda52 ) will transfer its fantasy sports division LeagueAdda to Halaplay.

So, the combined shareholding of Delta and Gaussian in HalaPlay after the completion of the transaction will be 19.55 per cent.

Although Nazara didn't disclose the size of the equity acquisition in Halaplay, Entrackr estimates assert that it approximately owned 25 per cent of the company in this transaction.

The two-year-old startup has raised around Rs 47-48 crore and the post money valuation is expected to be around Rs 100 crore.

Founded by Swapnil Saurav, Prateek Anand, Ananya Singhal, Halaplay has emerged as a leading fantasy sports company. The company claims to have 2 million registered users on its portal and it aims to grow with over 10 million active players in the upcoming cricket season.

For the fiscal year 2017-18, Halaplay had reported total revenue of Rs 2.98 crore.

For Nazara, Halaplay will be a crucial company under its portfolio to fight with competitors. Earlier, the gaming firm had acquired significant stakes in InstaSportz, CrimzonCode, NODWIN, and Nextwave.

Nazara is operational in more than 75 countries including India, Dubai, Singapore, and Mauritius.

The IPO-bound gaming firm is backed by Westbridge Capital Partners, Sequoia Capital, ESL, IIFL, and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.