MOSCOW (Reuters) – Video game developer Nexters Global said on Monday it had secured funds needed to proceed with a Nasdaq listing by the end of September via an agreement with a Russian special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
Nexters entered into an agreement in early 2021 with Russian SPAC Kismet Acquisition One Corp to list, a transaction that gave Nexters an enterprise value of $1.9 billion.
Investment worth $50 million from Kismet, alongside $50 million from the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co and VPE Capital, takes Nexters to the $100 million minimum requirement, Nexters said in a statement.
“The secured investments provide transaction security for closing the deal,” it said, adding the listing was expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter, subject to regulatory and other approvals.
Faris Al Mazrui, head of Mubadala’s Russia and CIS investment programme, said Nexters fitted into the fund’s expanding portfolio of tech companies.
The developer behind popular games Hero Wars and Throne Rush was founded in Russia in 2010 but is headquartered in Cyprus. Like other gaming firms, it has seen sales rise during the pandemic, this month reporting an estimated first-quarter revenue jump of 48%.
On Monday, Nexters said bookings in the second quarter were up 40% year on year to $154 million, thanks in large part to an increase of monthly paying players to approximately 400,000.
(Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Edmund Blair)
