Mobile games publisher Nazara Technologies Ltd has acquired a 55% stake in NODWIN Gaming Pvt. Ltd, a gaming solutions company and creator of e-sports events, through a cash-and-stock deal. Post acquisition, NODWIN will become an independent subsidiary of Nazara. Launched in 2014, NODWIN is an equal joint venture between founders Akshat Rathee and Gautam Virk, and Jetsynthesys Pvt. Ltd, a Pune-based firm which owns several digital media properties. Both Jetsynthesys and NODWIN promoters have diluted their stake in the NODWIN as part of the deal, said Nazara chief executive officer Manish Agarwal. He declined to comment on financial details. In February last year, Nazara announced its plans to launch eSports tournaments and committed to spending Rs 136 crore over five years to grow it as a separate business for the company. NODWIN has exclusive partnerships with Electronics Sports League, Esports World Convention, among others, and manages gaming events such as the ESL India Premiership, KO Fight Nights, The Intel Extreme Masters qualifiers for India and Electronic Sports World Cup (ESWC) India Qualifiers. With the acquisition, Nazara plans to create gaming tournaments in India, including localized content around global events (ESL One, ESL Pro League, Intel Extreme Masters, The International by Valve, etc) and expand on its partnership with publishers and advertisers. Earlier this month Nazara Games had invested an undisclosed amount against a majority stake acquisition in a gaming and multimedia startup NextWave Multimedia. What is eSports and how big is it? The term eSports refers to competitive video gaming events…
