Clairvest commits $74m to India game developer

According to a release, Clairvest committed about $40 million from its own account, with the rest of the capital coming from its affiliates. Head InfoTech CEO Deepak Gullapalli told The Economic Times that the deal valued the company at around $100 million, meaning that Clairvest’s investment secured a majority stake. He added that the company’s current management will remain in place.

Head InfoTech is best known for Ace2Three, an online card gaming portal focused on rummy with more than eight million users. The new investment will go towards launching games for Indian and overseas users. Head InfoTech will also take advantage of Clairvest’s experience and connections in the global gaming industry.

Toronto-based Clairvest was founded in 1987 and primarily invests in North American mid-market companies. It has about C$1.7 billion ($1.2 billion) in assets under management, including its C$600 million fifth fund from which the Head InfoTech investment came. Clairvest's gaming industry investments include Accel Entertainment, a US-based operator of video gambling terminals as well as several US casinos and horse tracks.

Head InfoTech was founded in 2007 and launched Ace2Three the following year. In 2010 Matrix Partners committed a funding round of an undisclosed amount.

Investments in Indian game developers have been relatively scarce recently. The indusry saw more activity in 2014 and 2015, when Matrix invested in Red Monster Games and Sequoia made commitments to Octro and Moonfrog.

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• Topics
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