Sports gaming startup, NextWave Multimedia has sold a stake in the company to Indian mobile gaming company, Nazara Technologies.

The popular cricket game, World Cricket Championship was developed and is owned by NextWave Multimedia.

“Nazara’s expertise in creating scalable and profitable business models around consumer transactions globally will give us the needed impetus to grow along with them,” PR Rajendran, CEO of NextWave Multimedia said.

The purchase of the Chennai-based startup by Nazara Technologies provides the latter with the means to launch cricket-based mobile games and virtual reality arcades, the company’s CEO Manish Agarwal said.

The acquisition adds to Nazara Technologies’ product line-up in terms of virtual reality with a focus on sports gaming, which is what the startup offers. Casual games and multi-player games both fall into the startup’s specialty.

“Nazara has been on the lookout for gaming companies which have established strong leadership in the sports genre,” Agarwal said. “NextWave offers a strong promise of dominating the space globally with its massive fan base of over 15 million monthly active users and strong product offering.”

The purchase bought Nazara Technologies a majority stake in the startup, making it the first majority stake held by the company, according to Agarwal. Nazara Technologies is partnered with Virat Kohli and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

(Picture courtesy: http://nextwavemultimedia.com/)