Nazara Completes Majority Stake Acquisition in Gamified Edtech Venture Kiddopia

Nazara Technologies Limited has announced that it has completed a majority stake acquisition of 51% in Paper Boat Apps by issuing Nazara shares worth RS. 43 Crores as part of the transaction.

Paper Boat Apps developed the popular 'Made in India' app Kiddopia that caters for children aged two to seven years old. Kiddopia was launched in 2017 by husband and wife duo, Anupam and Anshu Dhanuka (pictured above with Nazara's Nitish Mittersain).

It has become an instant hit, reaching the number one rank in the Kids category on the US App Store, and has been downloaded more than 5 million times. The app currently has over 300,000 active subscribers.

Since its initial funding round, Kiddopia has seen over 300% growth in revenues and is now witnessing an annualized revenue run rate of over Rs. 175 crores. Nazara's deal values Paper Boat Apps in excess of Rs. 150 Crores.

On the growth trajectory, Anupam Dhanuka, Co-Founder and CEO of Kiddopia said: "This investment from Nazara has helped us focus on product enhancement and marketing, thereby leading to a 3X growth in subscriber base.

"We have just finished our best month and we expect our topline to grow 2X in annual revenues by March 2021."

Nitish Mittersain, Founder and MD of Nazara Technologies Ltd says: "Gamified edtech is the only way to deliver high quality learning to young kids on digital devices. Kiddopia is a perfect example of this overlap between gaming and learning and their popularity amongst parents and kids speaks for itself. Nazara is very happy to add Kiddopia to our portfolio catering to over 100 million monthly active users on our network."

Nazara's network comprises of several well-known franchises and brands including the popular World Cricket Championship in cricket gaming, Halaplay in fantasy sports - which it took a majority stake in last month - and Nodwin Gaming in Esports.