BENGALURU: In perhaps one of the most profitable exits across the start-up ecosystem, the founders and investors of a Bengaluru-based online gaming startup, PlaySimple, saw 300 times growth in their returns after the company was acquired by Sweden-based firm Modern Times Group (MTG).
The two companies said on Friday that TG, one of the subsidiaries of MTG Gaming, will acquire 77% of the stake in PlaySimple in cash and the remaining 23% through shares for $360 million.
This will also include performance-based $150 million cash payments.The start-up which offers a variety of free online crosswords and word puzzles has raised $4.5 million from investors at a $16 billion valuation earlier.
PlaySimple’s cap table includes over 56%stake of its founders (Siddharth Jain, Siddhant Jain, Suraj Jian), 14.4% share of Chitrae Ventures, 19.7% stake of Elevation Capital and 9% owned by the company’s employees through Employee Stock ownership plan (ESOP).
PlaySimple’s growth trajectory has hit a high during the pandemic with revenues soaring by 144% YoY to $83 million and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $18 million.
For the first six months of 2021, the start-up’s revenue rose 82% to an estimated $60-64 million while the adjusted EBITDA soared 140% to $17-18 million compared to the corresponding period last year.
The PlaySimple app has clocked a total of 75 million installs with women constituting 80% of its userbase.
The company said that it has 7 million monthly active users and 1.9 million daily active users on its platform.