PUBG developer Krafton invests Rs 164 Cr for 15% stake in Nodwin Gaming

Esports platform Nodwin Gaming has raised Rs 164 crore from Krafton, the developer of PUBG Mobile. This is the maiden investment by the South Korean firm in India.

While Nodwin did not divulge the details of the transaction, the company’s regulatory filings show that Krafton has invested around Rs 110 crore to acquire a 10% stake in the Gurugram-based company.

The regulatory filings further show that Krafton will increase its stake to 15% after acquiring shares from Good Game Investment Trust and Jetsynthesys Private Limited on a proportionate basis in a secondary transaction worth Rs 54 crore. For the uninitiated, Nodwin is a joint venture between Good Game Investment Trust and Jetsynthesys Private Limited.

This is the third round of investment in Nodwin. Previously, it had raised funds from Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Nazara Technologies Limited and from JetSynthesys Private Limited backed by Infosys Limited co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan. 

Nodwin will use the funds to accelerate its growth in overseas markets such as South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The firm also plans to organise and execute tournaments at the national and global level. Nazara, which had invested in Nodwin Gaming in 2018, will remain the largest stakeholder in the company with more than 50% stake, said Nodwin in a press release.

According to Fintrackr’s estimates, Nodwin has been valued at around Rs 1,100 crore after the current investment round.

The seven-year-old company launched by Akshat Rathee and Gautam Virk, creates IPs, content and tournaments in partnership with global publishers and partners including ESL, Valve, Krafton, Riot and Blizzard. The company has content partnerships with broadcasters such as MTV on linear TV, Disney+ Hotstar, YouTube and Airtel.

After the ban on PUBG by the Indian government in September 2020, Krafton, the company behind PUBG’s intellectual property, has been trying to re-launch the gaming app in the country. However, the company failed to launch after several attempts. 

In November, PUBG also revealed its plans to make investments worth $100 million in India and hire over 100 employees specializing in business, esports and game development.