QYOU Media India announced that it has executed a binding term sheet to acquire a majority ownership stake in Maxamtech Digital Ventures, a six-year-old India-based venture creating technology and games for the mobile gaming industry. Maxamtech currently operates, via its proprietary platform Gaming 360, a variety of gaming destinations for companies including Vodafone and Glance. The acquisition will continue to push QYOU Media India to ramp up its portfolio of direct-to-consumer products as it moves into 2023. This includes recent announcements surrounding the launch of the QPLAY app and a subsequent co-marketing agreement for QPLAY running during the current T20 World Cup Cricket competition.
The mobile gaming business in India has experienced an unprecedented rise in recent years. KPMG has reported that there are 420 million online gamers in India, making it second only to China. This trajectory is being driven by the growing younger population that finds itself with more disposable income combined with a rapid rise in the use of smartphones. Revenue in the mobile gaming business is expected to reach over $5 billion in 2025, largely fueled by the discovery and adoption of casual and free-to-play games, a specialty of Maxamtech’s Gaming 360 platform.
Founded in 2017, Maxamtech Digital Ventures located in Pune, India, is led by veterans of the Indian gaming industry Xerxes Mullen and Sundeep Thusu. Their respective list of clients and partners over the years has included Disney India, Sony, Viacom18, Zee5, Ooredoo, Glance, SpiceJet, and many others. Most recently, the company announced a key partnership with Vodafone to increase the major telco’s efforts in the mobile gaming category. Both Maxamtech founders will continue to serve leadership roles in the business overseeing all technology, business development, and marketing efforts.
Commenting on the acquisition, Maxamtech Digital Ventures founder Xerxes Mullen said, “We have been looking for the right partner to take our business to the next level. Gaming continues to be one of the biggest opportunities in the Indian media and entertainment segment and we feel completely aligned with the QYOU Media and QYOU Media India management team on how we can really grow our operation in a smart and profitable way. We couldn’t be more excited to begin this journey together.”
QYOU Media Inc. Global CEO and co-founder Curt Marvis added, “We originally met the Maxamtech founders over a year ago. Right away we knew there could be a powerful combination of their technology and gaming know-how with our ability to reach young audiences on a mass scale that has now surpassed 125 million weekly viewers. As we push forward into 2023 to create greater opportunities to leverage our audience reach with new products for monetization and interactivity, it was a natural fit to bring this into our business more directly.”
Adding to this, QYOU Media India COO Krishna Menon said, “At QYOU Media India, we aim to continue to expand and diversify our offerings beyond providing entertainment. Acquiring the talented team at Maxamtech Digital Ventures is another strategic step towards this goal. The acquisition will reaffirm our commitment to delivering unique and innovative experiences to our 125 million weekly young viewers while also demonstrating our sustained emphasis on bringing meaningful innovation to the industry. Strengthening our capabilities with Maxamtech, we look forward to entering 2023 with greater opportunities to reach out to our audiences with new products driven by innovation and interactivity.”