SBI Mutual Fund Trims Nazara Stake via ₹216 Cr Bulk Deal, Stock Rallies 6%

SBI Mutual Fund on Monday trimmed 2.43% of its stake in listed gaming major Nazara Technologies through a bulk deal, NSE data showed. The fund offloaded 45.09 lakh shares at an average price of ₹240.18 apiece, valuing the transaction at approximately ₹108.3 crore.

The sale ranks among the largest stake transactions in Nazara Technologies this year, even as the company continues to attract strong interest from both domestic and global institutional investors. Earlier in the year, Norges Bank, which manages Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, entered Nazara’s shareholder base for the first time by purchasing 7.19 lakh shares worth nearly ₹70 crore through bulk deals.

Market Reaction

Shares of Nazara Technologies rose sharply following the transaction, with the stock climbing 6.68% to close at ₹253.05 on the BSE, while it gained 6.15% to finish at ₹252 apiece on the NSE.

Before the bulk deal, SBI Mutual Fund held 2.14 crore shares in Nazara, representing a 5.78% stake. After the sale, its holding declined to 1.69 crore shares, or 4.55% of the company’s total paid-up equity. The shares were sold in the price range of ₹240.03 to ₹240.18 per share, taking the total value of the transaction to ₹216.32 crore. Details of the buyers involved in the deal were not disclosed by the exchanges.

Nazara Previous Deals

The estate of late investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala fully exited Nazara Technologies earlier this year, selling 13 lakh shares at ₹1,225.19 apiece for a total consideration of ₹159.27 crore. The stake sale took place in June, ahead of the Indian government’s imposition of a ban on real money gaming.

Over the past year, the company has doubled down on building a diversified gaming and media portfolio through acquisitions spanning mobile gaming, esports, adtech and sports content.

Most recently, Nazara acquired an additional stake in Sportskeeda parent Absolute Sports, making it a wholly owned subsidiary. Its broader acquisition roster includes Fusebox Games, Paperboat, STAN, Ninja Global, Freaks 4U and Circle of Games, among others.

In August, Nazara scrapped its plan to acquire a minority stake in Moonshine Technology Private Limited, the parent company of online poker platform PokerBaazi, following the enactment of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025.

Nazara Financials

Nazara’s operating revenue rose 65% year on year to about ₹526.5 crore in Q2 FY26, up from ₹319 crore in Q2 FY25. Despite the top-line growth, the company slipped into a quarterly net loss after a large, one-time write-down.

Following the enactment of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, Nazara recognised an aggregate reduction of ₹914.70 crore on its investment in Moonshine Technologies (the parent of PokerBaazi), cutting the carrying value of that investment to ₹96.5 crore. The impairment was classified as exceptional and non-recurring. As a result, Nazara posted a net loss of roughly ₹33.9–34 crore in Q2 FY26 versus a profit in the same quarter a year earlier (reports cite prior-year profits of about ₹16.2–18 crore). On a half-year basis, profit fell 57.5% to ₹17 crore in H1 FY26 from ₹40 crore in H1 FY25.

Nazara said the impairment did not affect its standalone net worth, which remained at about ₹2,236 crore after the adjustment. Operationally the business continued to expand, with the 65% year-on-year rise in operating revenue underscoring ongoing demand even as the company addresses the exceptional hit to earnings.