Limassol-based gaming producer Nexters Global, the game developer behind Hero Wars and Throne Rush, is going public in a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) deal with the Moscow-based Kismet Acquisition One Corp.

Kismet head Ivan Tavrin is a specialist in the SPAC game., which raised $66 billon in the US in 2020. SPACs are ‘blank-check’ companies which list on stock exchanges, then merge with the companies they wish to invest in, making the deal more like a private-equity transaction.

This transaction is valued at $1.9 billion, according to a statement released on Monday. Kismet Capital Group will invest an additional $50 million in the deal down the road.
Existing shareholders of Nexters will receive a cash payment of up to $150 million pro-rata to their pre-money shareholdings, and will roll approximately 92 per cent of their holdings into the combined company. In addition, the founders and the management will receive 20 million Earn-Out shares over 3 years.
Credit Suisse, BofA Securities and LionTree Advisors served as advisors to Kismet for the deal.
Founded in 2010, Nexters is one of the largest and most seasoned European gaming unicorns with deep expertise in mobile game development and marketing. The Company is a developer and publisher of Hero Wars mid-core RPG franchise, currently available on mobile (iOS, Android) and PC (via web and Facebook) and is looking to launch three new titles in 2021.
“Nexters is one of the fastest growing mobile gaming companies in the world, propelled by a mission to produce games that transform the user experience, bring joy to players across the globe, and have the potential to become forever franchises,” comments Andrey Fadeev, Co-Founder and CEO of Nexters, in the statement. “In our flagship franchise, Hero Wars, players come not just to play and win, but also to spend time with other players, effectively making it a social network wrapped around the game. We are thrilled to make our debut as a public company, which will take us further on our quest to become a globally recognized market player. We are incredibly excited about the future of gaming and thrilled to have experienced partners such as Kismet Capital Group by our side.”

“Hero Wars is played in over 100 countries and available across all key platforms. Hero Wars has delivered 8.5x MAU growth to 5.4 million users and 4x paying users growth in the last two years. The company is planning to launch three new titles in 2021 in casual genres, leveraging its proven expertise in mobile gaming and digital marketing to engage new audiences and expand its footprint across key global markets,” the statement said.

“Nexters has delivered best-in-class profitability and growth, scaling its net bookings 10x in two years to $318 million in 2020, while staying well-diversified across key gaming markets. As of 2020, 35 per cent of company’s net bookings came from the United States, 23 per cent[ from Europe, and 19 per cent from Asia. The growth is expected to continue throughout 2021-23, with 2023 Net Bookings projected to reach $562 million and Management EBITDA[4] expected to come in at $138 million for 2021 and increase to $201 million by 2023″ according to the statement.

Says Tavrin: “The gaming industry is in the midst of a dramatic transformation and has seen exponential growth in recent years, which only accelerated as more people turned to gaming amid the pandemic. Nexters’ founders and management have not only introduced one of the most popular games in the mobile gaming market, but also showed impressive growth in revenue and profitability from Day One. Gaming is a truly global market, and taking this amazing company public positions it to become a consolidation platform for other gaming franchises and studios all around the world,”