A virtual gaming firm Smaaash Entertainment that was backed by Sachin Tendulkar is expected to launch its initial public offering (IPO) by the end of this year in December 2018.
The company has anticipated an amount of about $72 million (Rs 500 Cr) from its IPO. According to the reports, in the financial year 2017, Smaaash’s operating revenue closely doubled to $16 million (Rs 103.26 Crore), and along with this its losses also increased by around 33% to $5 million (Rs 32.8 Crore).
The funds acquired by the initial public offering will be utilized the purpose of inorganic growth initiatives, repay part of its debt and for the requirements of its working capital.
The company was founded in 2012 by film director and producer Shripal Morakhia. Smaaash is a gaming arcade operator with multiple digital entertainment centres for cricket, football, go-karting, bowling and other recreational activities.
The total amount of funds that the company has raised till now totals around $67.7 million. This also includes the recent funding round of $6.17 million (Rs 40.2 Crore) from 23 High Networth Individuals (HNIs) in March 2018.
The virtual gaming industry in the country is emerging and booming at a great pace day by day with players like Nazara Technologies, NODWIN Gaming, Passion Gaming, PlaySimple, Flixy Games, GameXS, RedMonsterGames, among others.
There can be various reasons responsible for such a high growth of this industry in the country, which involve the growing use of smartphones and internet, higher data speed, low-value data packs and enhanced network all over the country, and with this, the virtual gaming space is expected to reach the valuation of around $1 billion by 2021 and cross 10 million gamers around the country by then.